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THE 

EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ILLUSTRATED. 


0? 

SSIVBRSI 


OR,    THE 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY  ILLUSTRATED. 


'  Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her  :  tell  the  towers  thereof." 
Ps.  xlviii.  12. 


[tTKITBESITr] 
"%J 

NET 


PROTESTANT   EPISCOPAL  SOCIETY  FOR   THE    PROMOTION    OF 

EVANGELICAL    KNOWLEDGE. 
11    BIBLE    HOUSE,    ASTOR    PLACE. 

185G. 


T4 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by  the 

AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  little  volume  will  be  found  to  be  what 
its  title  indicates,  an  illustration  of  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity.  The  author  anticipates 
the  objection,  which  may  appear  to  some  to  be 
valid,  that  it  is  too  full  of  illustrations — that 
the  subject  is  lowered  by  the  abundance  of 
stories.  He  would  suggest  to  such  an  objector 
to  keep  in  mind  the  class  of  readers  for  whom 
it  was  especially  prepared — the  youth ;  and  if 
he  is  still  skeptical  on  this  point,  let  him  take 
a  volume  on  the  same  subject,  logically,  and  if 
he  please  eloquently  written,  with  the  illustra- 
tive stories  omitted,  and  place  it  in  the  hands 
of  any  youth  of  ordinary  intelligence,  and  let 

him  notice  the  amount  of  interest  it  excites.    la 
i*  6 


6  PREFACE. 

most  cases,  it  will  be  opened,  its  leaves  turned 
over,  and  then  it  will  be  laid  aside.  Of  what 
avail  are  books  in  the  hands  of  young  persons, 
however  good  and  well  written,  if  they  have  not 
attractions,  to  them,  sufficient  to  secure  their 
attentive  perusal  ?  • 

That  this  is  such  a  book,  the  author  will  not 
pretend  to  say ;  but  he  has  endeavored  to  keep 
constantly  in  view,  in  writing  it,  two  points: 
first,  to  present  the  arguments  clearly  and  forci- 
bly ;  and  secondly,  to  clothe  them  in  an  attrac- 
tive form,  so  that  they  will  be  read  and  re- 
membered. 

The  language  is  such  as  occurred  under  the 
Stimulus  of  writing,  without  any  effort  or  desire 
to  use  children's  words.  If  the  outlines  are 
drawn  within  a  young  person's  capacity,  the 
verbal  detail  will  generally  be  readily  under- 
stood. 

An  adept  in  the  voluminous  subject  of  Chris- 
tian evidences  will  find  the  following  but  a 
sketch  of  the  mass  of  materials  they  contain ; 
hp  may  discover  that  which  is  a  strong  point 


PREFACE.  T 

to  him,  omitted  and  matter  of  less  force,  in  his 
estimation,  introduced.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered by  such,  that  different  minds  are  differ- 
ently affected  by  the  same  argument.  The 
elaborate  argument  of  Butler,  and  the  more 
elegantly  expressed  argument  of  Dr.  Hopkins 
on  the  same  point,  may  be  the  almost  exclusive 
grounds  of  faith  in  the  Scriptures  to  some 
philosophical  and  cultivated  intellects ;  but  it 
would  be  difficult  to  popularize  it,  or  make  it 
appreciated  by  an  immature  mind,  in  whatever 
form  presented.  As  in  the  illustrations,  so  in 
the  selection  of  topics,  we  have  kept  before  us 
the  class  for  whom  we  write.  For  this  reason, 
in  part,  the  evidence  from  experience  has  been 
fully  detailed,  though  it  must  be  conceded 
that  this  is,  of  itself,  one  of  the  strongest 
grounds  of  faith  in  the  divinity  of  the  Bible. 

We  remark  here,  as  we  have  done  in  the 
concluding  chapter,  that  this  work  is  not  in- 
tended fully  to  instruct  the  Christian  student 
on  the  subject  discussed,  but  only  to  open  the 
way — to  excite  a  relish  for  its  more  full  inves- 


8 


PBEFACE. 


tigation,  as  well  as  to  prepare  the  inexperienced, 
in  some  measure,  against  the  insidious  ap- 
proaches of  unbelief,  which  are  sure  to  find 
access  to  the  unregenerated  heart. 

With  these  few  prefatory  remarks,  the  book 
is  commended  to  the  candid  perusal  of  the 
reader. 


CONTENTS. 


TOWER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  I. — Children   believe   the  Bible — The  Object  of  this 

Book. 

A  Traveller's  Questions — Another  Question — A  little  Doubt- 
er— Application Page  15 

SECTION  II. — The  Nature  of  Evidence  illustrated. 
Gold  Mines — Doubt  stated — A  real  Incident — A  Fact  to 
be  remembered — A  Voyage  to  China — Reasons  for  be- 
lieving the  Voyage  possible — Belief  not  compelled 18 

SECTION  III. — Suggestions. 

First  Suggestion — Second  Suggestion — Bible,  or  Nothing — 
Third  Suggestion — Washington's  Farewell  Address — 
The  Orphan  Boy — An  interesting  Manuscript — The 
wicked  Son's  view  of  such  a  paper — Application — Right 
State  of  Heart  necessary -  21 

TOWER  II. 

EVIDENCE   PROM  TESTIMONY. 

SECTION  I. — Testimony  Illustrated. 
The  French  Revolution  of  1848 — Three  important  Questions 
—The  Illustration  continued — The  Questions  re-stated 
Another    Item — Illustration — Illustration    continued — 

Application , 26 

9 


10  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  II. — Have  we  the  very  Statements  of  the  Writers  of 
the  New  Testament  f 

First  Question  applied — Proof  from  Italian  Authors — 
French  Authors — Authors  of  Africa,  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor — Wonderful  Preservation  of  the  New  Testament- 
Specimens  of  Variations — New  Testament  frequently 
copied 33 

SECTION  III. —  Were  the  Writers  of  the  New  Testament  honest  * 
An  Objection  answered — The  Writers'  Prejudices — Their 
Sufferings — Their   Candour — Their  Representations   of 
Themselves — The  Conclusion , 39 

SECTION  IV. —  Were  these  Writers  in  a  situation  to  know 

certainly  what  they  stated  ? 
Some  of  the  Things  they  witnessed 42 

SECTION  V. — The  Testimony  of  the  Writers  of  the  New 

Testament  confirmed. 

A  Case  supposed — A  Jewish  and  Egyptian  Custom — 
Fourth  of  July — Application — The  Lord's  Supper — 
Baptism — Church  and  Ministry 43 

SECTION  VI. —  Writers  of  the  Old  Testament. 
New  Testament  confirms  their  Testimony 46 

TOWER  III. 

EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

SECTION  I. — General  Illustrations  of  the  Subject  of  Miracle*. 
A  great  and  wonderful  Fact— The  Magnetic  Telegraph — 
The  Factory — Nature  of  these  Works — Subject  to  Laws- 
Story  of  General  Washington— Illustrations  applied — 
Dr.  Franklin  and  his  Kite— Fulton  and  Steam— Defini- 
tions of  Miracle — Works  which  would  be  Miracles — A 
Fact  inferred— An  important  Question— The  Purpose  of 


CONTENTS.  11 

Miracles — A  Mormon  Impostor — Three  important  Points 
stated 48 

SECTION  II.— The  Miracles  of  Moses. 
Water  turned  into  Blood— The  three  Rules  applied — Dark- 
ness over  all  Egypt — A  fearful  Description — The  First- 
born of  the  Egyptians  slain — A  supposed  Case — The 
Passage  of  the  Red  Sea — Important  Points — Wash- 
ington crossing  the  Delaware — The  Fall  of  Manna — The 
starving  Irish — Application 57 

SECTION  III. — The  Miracles  of  Christ. 
The  Advent  of  Christ — His  Pretensions — The  Character 
of  his  mighty  Works — Their  benevolent  Character — 
Jairus'  Daughter — Her  Sickness — A  Ray  of  Hope — Jai- 
rus  visits  the  Saviour — His  Daughter's  Death — The 
Cure — The  two  Blind  Men — Their  Condition — Jesus 
passes  by — They  desire  to  be  healed — The  Cure  wrought 
—The  Blind  Apple  Vender — Facts  to  be  remembered — 
A  weak  Objection 63 

SECTION  IV. — The  Resurrection  of  Christ. 
Its  Importance— Certainty  of  his  Death— Certainty  of  his 
Resurrection — Jew's  Account  of  it — Publicity  of  the 
Disciples'  Testimony — An  important  Point 72 

SECTION  V. — Miracles  of  the  Early  Christians. 
Gift  of  Tongues — General  Remarks — Conclusion  of  Sub- 
ject of  Miracles 77 

TOWER  IV. 

EVIDENCE   FROM  PROPHECY. 

SECTION  I. —  What  is  Prophecy  ? 

Anecdote  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher— Suppositions  concern- 
ing the  Anecdote — Supposed  Case— Some  Particulars 
given— These  examined — The  Application SO 


12  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  II. — Prophecies  concerning   Christ. 
Christ  expected — The   Reasons — Prophecies   given — The 
time  of  his  Coming  foretold — His  Birth-place — Tribe — 
Family — Character — Miracles — Death  foretold 85 

SECTION  II. — Prophecies  concerning  Babylon. 
Bunker  Hill  Monument — A  high  Tower — A  beautiful 
Prospect — The  Streets,  Garden,  Bridge — The  two  Pa- 
laces— The  Suspended  Garden — Great  Lake — Babylon's 
Pride — Important  Questions — Cyrus,  the  Persian  Gene- 
ral— The  City  taken — Further  Prophecies — The  Speci- 
fications— Application... 88 

SECTION  IV. — Prophecies  concerning  the  Seven  Churches  of 

"  The  Revelation  of  John." 

Four  Cities  named — Ephesus — Its  present  State — Church 
of  Philadelphia — The  Prophecy— -Its  Fulfilment— Church 
of  Laodicea — The  Prophecy  concerning  it — Fulfil- 
ment— Smyrna — Illustration  of  these  Prophecies — New 
York —  Baltimore —  Philadelphia  — Albany  — An  Objec- 
tion answered — Application — Other  Prophecies 95 

TOWER  V. 

EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

SECTION  I. — The  JKemarkable  Character  of  the  Doctrines 

it  teaches. 

The  World  without  the  Bible— Man's  Original  State— His 
Fall— Christ— Sacrifices — Character  of  Christ — Human- 
ity—Divinity—Holy Ghost — Repentance  and  Faith — 
Their  Simplicity  and  Power — The  General  Resurrec- 
tion— Future  Judgment 104 

SECTION  II. — The  Purity  of  its  Morality. 
The  Morality  of  the  Heathen — Bolingbroke's  Confession — 
A  Standard  of  Morality — The  skeptical  Lawyer — His 
surprise  at  the  Moral  Law 109 


CONTENTS.  13 

SECTION  III. — Simplicity  and  Sublimity  of  its  Style. 
Fisher  Ames's  Opinion — Sir  William  Jones's  Opinion — Ex- 
amples of  Simplicity — Description  of  the  Crucifixion — 
Sublimity — Dr.  Franklin — His  ingenious   Device — The 
Example  of  Sublimity  quoted — The  Result 115 

SECTION  IV. — The  Harmony  of  all  its  Teachings. 
The  different  Writers  of  the  Bible— Same  Doctrines — 
Same  Conditions  and  Sanctions — Inference 121 

SECTION  V. — The  Character  it  exhibits  of  Christ. 
A  supposed  Case — A  benevolent  Man — The  Supposition 
changed — The  impure  Water — Application — Christ's 
Love — Seen  in  doing  Good — In  his  Words — Christ's 
Authority — Examples  —  His  Authority  in  rebuking 
Sins — Instance  of  Authority — His  Godhead  and  Hu- 
manity— Rousseau's  Confession — Christ's  Character — A 
wonderful  Theme — Never  exhausted , 125 

TOWER  VI. 

EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

SECTION  I. — The  Experiments. 

The  Ocean  Steam-ship — Missionary  Physician — Sick  Chief 
—The  Cure— The  Pool— The  Leper— The  Application...  137 

SECTION  H. — Testimony  from  Experience. 
The  young  Student — His  Reflections — The  Resolution — 
The  Result— The  Change — The  Cause — The  Family 
Group — Their  former  State — Case  of  Phebe  Bartlett^- 
Her  earnest  Seeking  and  deep  Conviction — The  happy 
Change 140 

SECTION  III. — -Testimony  from  Experience  among  the  Heathen. 

The  Bible  for  the  Degraded — The  State  of  the  Heathen — 
The  Heathen  and  the  Bible— Greenlanders — Many  Wit- 
nesses— Remarks 146 

2 


14  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  TV.— Scripture  'feat  of  Experience. 
A  supposed  Case — The  Drunkard's  Remedy — The  Expe- 
rience Meeting — The  old  Inebriate's  Case — The  Bible 
Test — Examples  abundant — The  Shipwrecked  Sailors— 
Their  cruel  Treatment — The  Missionary  Labours  and 
FruitH-Another  Shipwreck— The  Contrast— The  Sand- 
wich Islands — Abundant  Fruit 149 

SECTION  V.     Dying  Testimony. 

Another  Test — Important  Inquiries — Dying  Fancies—- 
Fancy of  the  Dying  Sensualist — Fancy  of  the  Dying 
Christian — The  important  Item — Dr.  Cooper — Dr.  Leech- 
man — The  Happy  Death — John  Randolph — A  Solemn 
Scene— Dr.  Payson— A  Letter  from  the  Top  of  Beulah...  155 

TOWER  VII. 

CONCLUSION. 

SECTION  I. — Summary  of  the  Arguments. 
The  Review  of  the  Journey — Kind  of  Evidence — The 
Witnesses — Their  Character,  &c. — Miracles — Character 
of  the  Miracles — Prophecy  reviewed — Its  astonishing 
Character — The  Bible's  own  Testimony — Simplicity  and 
Sublimity — Other  Particulars — Character  of  Christ — 
Evidence  from  Experience— An  earnest  Wish 165 

SECTION  II. — Important  Inferences  from  the  Argument 

presented. 

The  Bible  courts  Inquiry — Character  of  the  Objections — 
Bible  should  be  studied— The  Naval  Officer's  Instruc- 
tions—A Parting  Word 173 


U1U7SRSITT 


THE 

EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ILLUSTRATED. 


TOWER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  I.— Children  believe  fhe  Bible—The  Object  of 
this  Book. 

A  TRAVELLER  started  from  a  city  of  New  Eng- 
land, to  go  to  New  Orleans  by  land.  He  was  a 
devoted  friend  of  Sunday-schools,  and  had,  for 
many  years,  been  trying  to  promote  their  usefulness. 
Before  leaving  home  he  stepped  into  a  Sunday- 
school  of  many  hundred  scholars.  He  walked 
silently  down  the  middle  of  the  room,  passing  from 
class  to  class  of  happy  children.  Taking  up  a  Bi- 
ble he  asked  some  little  boys,  "Whose  book  is 
this?"  "  The  book  of  God,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 
He  repeated  the  question  to  several  classes.  The 
answer  was  always  the  same  in  substance. 

When  he  reached  New  York,  standing  before  a 
large  company  of  youth,  he  again  asked,  "  From 

15 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

whom  did  men  receive  the  Bible  ?"  "  From  God." 
« Is  it  all  true  then  ?"  "  Yes." 

Going  from  New  York,  he  visited  many  large 
cities,  and  then  passing  over  the  mountains  into 
the  little  retired  towns  of  the  "  Far  West/'  where 
a  few  boys  and  girls  were  assembled  in  an  humble 
place  of  worship,  he  asked  again,  "  Whose  book  is 
it  that  you  study  on  the  Sabbath  ?"  And  the  an- 
swer was  still  the  same.  The  traveller  noted  in  his 
memorandum-book  all  these  replies. 

But  why  did  he  ask  so  plain  a  question,  so  easily 
answered  ?  And  of  what  interest  were  the  children's 
replies  ?  They  impressed  upon  his  mind  a  great 
truth,  viz. — the  children  of  our  Sunday-schools  be- 
lieve the  Bible. 

But  now  suppose  he  had  asked  them  this  ques- 
tion, "WHY  do  you  believe  that  the  Bible  is  God's 
book?  Your  geography  is  not,  in  the  same  sense, 
God's  book ;  neither  is  your  arithmetic,  nor  your 
grammar,  nor  your  reading-book,  God's  book." 
Perhaps  many  would  have  said,  "  Because  my  pa- 
rents and  teachers  have  told  us  so."  And  they 
would  have  had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  that 
answer.  It  is  right  for  children  to  believe  a  great 
many  important  truths,  because  older  and  wiser 
persons  than  themselves  say  they  are  truths,  though 
they  are  not  yet  able  to  understand  why  they  are 
believed  to  be  truths.  Let  me  illustrate  this. 

Two  children  are  at  play  on  the  side  of  a  grassy 


A  LITTLE  DOUBTER.  17 

hill.  The  sun  seems  to  be  exactly  over  the  hill- 
top, upon  which  it  seemed  about  to  rest.  The  chil- 
dren watch  its  progress,  because  they  know  that 
when  it  is  hidden  behind  the  hill,  their  parents  will 
expect  them  to  come  home.  As  its  bright  rays 
were  gilding  the  tops  of  the  tall  trees,  and  their 
shadows  stretched  far  along  the  plain,  the  youngest 
boy  exclaimed, 

"  There  !  the  sun  has  moved  from  away  up 
there,"  pointing  nearly  over  his  head,  "and  has 
gone  behind  the  hill  since  we  have  been  at  play." 

"No  !"  replied  his  brother,  with  the  air  of  one 
deeply  learned — "father  told  us  the  other  night, 
that  the  sun  does  not  move,  but  the  earth  moves 
and  the  sun  stands  still." 

"  But,"  said  the  little  doubter,  "  did  not  we  see 
it  move  ?" 

"  Well,"  answered  his  brother  thoughtfully, 
t(  father  says  it  does  not  move,  and  I  heard  our 
school-teacher  explaining  it  to  some  of  the  large 
scholars  the  other  day,  and  I  believe  it,  though  I 
do  not  understand  how  it  can  be,  exactly." 

And  by  and  by,  this  little  boy  will  be  per- 
mitted to  study  some  simple  explanation  of  the 
known  truth,  that  it  is  the  earth  which  moves  and  not 
the  sun.  This  will  strengthen  his  belief,  and  in  due 
time,  if  he  have  opportunities  for  learning,  he  may 
be  able  to  prove  to  others,  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt,  that  it  is  really  so. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

Now  I  suppose  all  the  children  who  read  this 
book  believe  the  Bible  to  be  written  by  good  men, 
who  were  taught  what  to  write  by  God  himself  j 
and  the  most  of  them  believe  this  because  they  have 
been  told  so,  just  as  they  believe  the  earth  turns 
round  every  day;  because  they  are  told  so. 

SECTION  II. — The  Nature  of  Evidence  illustrated. 

QUITE  recently  the  newspapers  have  published 
accounts  of  gold  being  discovered  in  California,  one 
of  our  newly-acquired  States.  It  is  said  that  some 
American  officers  and  soldiers  have  been  there,  and 
hunters  have  visited  the  same  places,  and  have  dug 
up  some  of  the  precious  metal.  The  report  has 
been  believed  and  acted  upon.  Many  young  men 
and  some  old  men  have  left  their  homes,  taken  the 
little  money  which  they  have  saved  from  the  earnings 
of  many  years  of  hard  toil,  and  spent  it  all  to  enable 
them  to  get  into  these  reported  gold  regions.  Ves- 
sels are  constantly  fitted  out  from  some  of  our  large 
cities  to  carry  on  business  with  them. 

Now  let  us  examine  the  reasons  upon  which 
these  men  act.  The  newspapers  contain  accounts 
of  visits  of  various  persons  to  these  places,  and  of 
their  finding  gold.  But  the  newspaper  editors  are 
often  deceived,  and  print  many  such  things  which 
are  not  true.  May  not  this  be  untrue  ?  And  if 
officers  and  soldiers  have  found  what  they  call  gold. 


A  REAL  INCIDENT.  19 

may  they  not  be  mistaken  ?  A  few  years  ago  the  fol- 
lowing circumstance  actually  happened.  A  vessel 
went  on  to  the  coast  of  California  to  trade  with  the 
natives  in  the  common  articles  of  commerce.  Soon 
after  they  arrived,  they  found  a  yellow,  shining  min- 
eral which  they  called  gold.  The  sailors  thought  it 
'was  gold,  and  the  captain  thought  it  was  gold,  and  they 
neglected  their  regular  business,  and  filled  their  vessel 
with  gold  dust,  as  they  supposed,  and  returned 
home,  anticipating  future  riches  and  ease.  But  no 
sooner  did  some  of  their  friends  see  it  than  they 
pronounced  it  to  be  a  useless,  yellow  mineral,  and 
known  to  be  so  by  persons  skilled  in  metals. 
Such  it  really  was.  Now  may  not  these  California 
gold  mines  be  of  the  same  character  ?  But  even 
if  there  is  gold  there,  how  natural  that  the  account 
should  be  exaggerated,  and  only  a  small  part  of  it 
be  true !  There  may  be  only  a  very  little,  gold,  and 
worth  no  person's  time  and  expense  to  obtain  it. 

All  these  objections  are  natural,  and  may  be 
true,  yet  men  are  acting  upon  the  reasons  given, 
namely  the  evidence  or  proof  contained  in  news- 
paper statements.  I  wish  this  to  be  remembered  as 
a  matter  of  fact. 

A  traveller  wishes  to  go  to  China.  He  knows 
that  it  is  a  very  great  distance  from  the  port  in 
America  from  which  he  sails.  The  wide  ocean  is  to 
be  traversed.  The  dark  night  will  close  upon  him 
while  surrounded  with  one  vast  expanse  of  water. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

Even  at  mid-day  and  in  the  clearest  sunshine, 
there  is  no  path.  The  tempest  will  come  down 
upon  the  ocean  with  terrible  fury,  and  the  strong 
currents  will  drive  against  the  ship,  in  directions 
opposite  to  that  in  which  their  way  lies.  Will  the 
captain  be  able  to  keep  his  course  amidst  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night — when  there  is  nothing  but  wa- 
ter, from  the  bosom  of  which  the  sun  seems  to  rise, 
and  into  which  it  appears  to  phmge  at  evening? 
Will  he  assuredly  sail  towards  the  distant  port? 
Will  he  be  able  to  manage  his  frail  and  trembling 
ship  when  the  storm  suddenly  spends  its  strength 
upon  it?  Will  he  not  mistake  one  of  the  many 
countries  and  ports  of  the  long  voyage  for  that  one 
for  which  he  is  destined  ? 

Few  travellers,  perhaps,  stop  to  make  any  of 
these  inquiries.  Those  who  do  would  be  satisfied 
with  reasons  something  like  the  following : — The 
captain  by  certain  scientific  calculations  can  tell 
both  by  night  and  day,  in  storms  and  in  fair  weather, 
his  exact  course.  Experience  has  taught  a  safe  and 
comparatively  easy  management  of  the  vessel,  in 
the  hour  of  the  greatest  peril.  And  the  most  satis- 
factory proof  of  all  is  that  thousands  of  ships  make 
the  contemplated  voyage  in  safety.  All  this  would 
be  said  in  proof  of  its  possibility,  and  in  answer  to 
the  objections  proposed.  But,  after  all,  any  man 
might  be  unwilling  to  exercise  a  practical  faith  in 
the  practicableness  of  a  voyage.  There  is  no  such 


BELIEF  NOT   COMPELLED.  21 

proof  as  to  remove  every  possibility  of  doubt.  None 
are  compelled  to  believe. 

Of  the  same  nature  are  the  evidences  that  the 
Bible  is  God's  word.  They  are  much  stronger — 
and  they  are  more  abundant  than  those  upon  which 
men  act  in  common  life.  Men  risk  their  worldly 
all  to  seek  gold  upon  less  evidence  of  success. 
They  expose  their  lives  upon  the  ocean  with  less 
proof  of  safety.  But  the  Bible  does  not  compel 
our  belief.  It  affords  many  and  strong  evi- 
dences of  its  divine  origin,  and  leaves  men  to  re- 
ceive them  as  they  do  the  evidence  of  common 
things. 

SECTION  III. — Suggestions. 

WHILE  you  study  these  pages,  you  will  do  well  to 
remember  what  the  Bible  claims  to  be,  namely — 
"The  booJc  of  God."  Go  out  in  a  pleasant  evening 
and  look  at  the  bright,  clear  sky.  Behold  the  stars 
which  shine  with  so  much  brilliancy,  and  the  moon 
which  moves  so  silently  among  the  clouds,  shedding 
her  soft  beams  over  the  streams  and  the  forest,  and 
.  then  think  of  him  who  made  all  these.  Remember 
that  the  Bible  claims  that  same  God  as  its  author. 
Think  of  the  many  mercies  which  crown  your  life, 
the  food  that  loads  your  tables,  the  house  that  shel- 
ters you  from  the  storm,  the  friends  that  so 
abundantly  provide  for  you,  and  then  think  of  tne 
"Father  of  lights,"  from  whom  come  all  these 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

good  gifts,  and  recollect  that  he  is  declared  to  be 
the  author  of  the  Bible.  If  you  believe  that  God 
gives  you  food  and  raiment,  home  and  friends, 
that  the  stars  shine  for  your  instruction,  and  the 
moon  gives  her  light  for  your  good,  that  every 
day  of  your  life  shows  that  you  are  the  object  of 
his  care,  then  it  will  be  reasonable  for  you  to  be- 
lieve that  this  same  good  God  would  tell  you  in 
some  plain  way  what  he  wishes  you  to  do  to  please 
him,  and  for  what  purpose  he  had  made  you,  and 
what  was  to  become  of  you  hereafter.  You  will  do 
well  then  to  remember  this  second  great  truth,  that 
the  Bible  is  the  only  book  which  has  any  good 
claim  to  be  from  God.  You  would  not  go  to  the 
pretended  prophet  Mohammed,  and  take  his  book, 
the  Koran,  which  enforces  its  claims  by  the  sword, 
and  promises  to  gratify  the  worst  passions  of  men 
as  the  reward  of  faith.  And  with  less  reason,  if 
possible,  would  you  go  to  the  Mormon  prophet, 
whose  degraded  life  is  a  fair  reflection  of  the  cha- 
racter of  his  pretended  revelation  from  God. 

If  the  Bible  claims  to  be  "  God's  book/'  and  if 
we  must  believe  that  God  has  not  told  his  children 
upon  earth  what  is  his  will  and  their  duty,  unless 
he  has  told  them  so  in  this  book,  then  I  think  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  we  ought  carefully  and 
seriously  to  consider  the  evidence  that  the  Bible  is 
the  word  of  God.  When  Washington  was  about  to 
retire  from  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  and 


THE   ORPHAN  BOY.  23 

return  to  private  life,  he  wrote  an  affectionate  ad- 
dress to  the  people  of  this  country.  He  gave  them 
such  advice  as  his  long  experience  and  deep  interest 
in  his  country's  welfare  suggested.  That  address 
is  greatly  respected  by  every  true  American ;  and 
indeed  every  letter  and  every  word  which  professes 
to  come  from  him  is  examined  with  great  respect 
and  care. 

Suppose  any  one  of  my  readers  is  left  an  orphan, 
when  but  a  child.  He  grows  up  with  but  little 
knowledge  of  his  parents,  except  the  remarks  which 
are  occasionally  dropped,  that  they  were  very  devoted 
Christians.  When  about  to  engage  in  the  active 
duties  of  life,  young,  and,  of  course,  inexperienced, — 
with  a  feeling  of  loneliness,  and  a  despondency  of 
spirits,  being  ready  to  say,  "  Nobody  cares  for  me, — 
there  is  no  friend  to  advise,  or  sympathize  with  me :" 
suppose  a  manuscript  should  be  given  to  him,  pro- 
fessing to  be  written  by  his  own  father,  just  before 
his  death.  He  opens  it  and  examines  the  hand- 
writing, and  compares  it  with  the  record  of  the 
children's  names,  wrote  by  his  father's  hand  in  the 
old  family  Bible.  He  inquires  where  it  came  from, 
and  investigates  carefully  all  the  evidence  that  it 
really  is  from  his  father.  He  reads  it.  It  calls  him 
by  name.  It  points  out,  with  a  father's  affectionate 
solicitude,  the  path  of  honour  and  success  in  life.  It 
warns  him  of  dangers  which  he  never  before  thought 
of.  It  is  full  of  sympathy.  It  not  only  contains 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

the  best  earthly  advice  upon  which  he  can  rely,  but 
it  is  the  only  exhibition  of  his  departed  parent's 
character  and  wishes  concerning  his  son,  that  has 
ever  come  to  his  knowledge.  With  what  interest 
and  respect  does  he  examine  the  hand-writing,  and 
study  its  history  since  it  was  written,  and  reflect 
upon  its  claims  as  a  genuine  manuscript,  and  that  it 
is  really  what  it  is  said  to  be,  "  A  father's  dying 
and  only  advice  to  his  son."  The  document  itself 
would  seem  at  once  to  him  to  be  so  excellent,  that 
his  feelings  would  be  on  the  side  of  its  being  true. 
He  would  desire  it  to  be  so.  But  if,  in  the  course 
of  time,  this  son  should  become  very  profane,  idle, 
and  in  every  respect  unworthy  of  such  an  excellent 
father;  and  if,  upon  a  more  careful  perusal  of  this 
manuscript,  it  should  warn  him  against  the  conse- 
quences of  the  course  he  was  pursuing,  uttering  the 
most  pointed  reproof,  and  holding  up  a  very  dif- 
ferent course  of  conduct  as  the  only  one  that  can  be 
safely  or  honourably  pursued,  he  would  then  perhaps 
feel  differently  in  reference  to  the  evidence  which 
showed  it  to  be  from  his  parent's  hand.  He  would 
wish  to  disprove  it — he  would  gladly  have  the  manu- 
script destroyed. 

Without  the  Bible,  my  young  friend,  we  are  like 
such  an  orphan.  We  have  no  certain  adviser  with 
regard  to  another  world ;  our  way  is  dark,  and  the 
future  full  of  gloomy  forebodings.  Dangers  beset  us 
on  every  side,  and  perplexities  meet  us  at  every  turn. 


APPLICATION.  25 

Why  were  we  created  ?  What  must  we  do  ?  What 
will  become  of  us  ?  are  questions  we  never  could 
answer,  except  by  the  light  of  the  Bible.  But  this 
book  professes  to  solve  all  doubt.  If  you  have  the 
right  state  of  heart,  you  will  examine  it  with  a  desire 
to  receive  all  the  evidence  of  its  truth.  It  will  seem 
so  desirable  to  have  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven 
by  your  sida,  as  it  were,  to  counsel  you,  that  your 
heart  will  leap  with  joy,  as,  step  by  step,  the  evi- 
dences of  its  truth  unfold  to  your  apprehension. 
But  if  you  so  live  that  it  reproves  you — if  you  are 
the  dissipated  and  prodigal  son — if  all  your  affec- 
tions are  upon  earth,  I  have  every  reason  to  fear 
that  you  will  not  consider  the  evidence  I  am  about 
to  offer  in  a  candid  spirit. 

Seek  to  love  that  which  is  good.  Be  a  child  in- 
deed, that  you  may  learn.  Remember  you  are  a 
worm, — and  God  is  the  holy  and  just  one  who  in- 
habiteth  eternity — whose  ways  are  past  finding  out. 
Try  to  say  from  the  heart,  "Oh,  may  the  Bible 
stand  forth  to  me,  in  all  the  fulness  of  its  claims, 
as  his  revelation — may  my  head  and  my  heart  be 
disposed  to  receive  it  in  the  love  of  it." 


26  EVIDENCE  FROM  TESTIMONY. 


TOWER  II. 

EVIDENCE  FROM   TESTIMONY. 

SECTION  I. — Testimony  illustrated. 

THE  year  1848  was  remarkable  for  a  great  re- 
volution in  France.  It  commenced  with  the  over- 
throw of  the  government  of  Louis  Philippe,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  government  by  the  people. 
In  June,  there  was  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
put  down  the  new  rulers,  and  many  thousands  of 
the  citizens  and  soldiers  were  killed.  In  Decem- 
ber, a  republic  was  established  and  a  president 
chosen.  Now  suppose  a  person  had  arrived  in  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  commencement 
of  the  revolution,  and  had .  declared  that  Louis 
Philippe,  the  king  of  France,  notwithstanding 
he  had  trained  and  well-paid  soldiers  around  his 
palace  and  parading  through  every  street,  and 
though  the  walls  of  Paris  had  just  been  fortified 
at  enormous  expense,  and  the  city  was  supplied 
with  well-stored  magazines,  had  been  driven  from 
his  throne  and  been  compelled  to  fly  with  his 
family  from  the  country,  destitute  of  the  ordinary 
means  of  subsistence,  and  that  all  this  was  ac- 


THEEE  IMPORTANT  QUESTIONS.       27 

complished  in  the  face  of  these  soldiers  and  all 
these  defences,  by  an  unarmed  people,  without  the 
shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood !  The  inquiry  would 
first  be,  What  is  the  character  of  the  man  who  brings 
such  astonishing,  and,  in  many  respects,  improbable 
news  ?  Is  he  an  honest  man,  or  is  he  a  mere  hire- 
ling of  some  newspaper,  who  is  paid  for  any  exciting 
intelligence  he  may  bring,  and  who  may  either  have 
formed  this  story  without  any  foundation,  or  greatly 
exaggerated  it  ? 

Having  decided  these  questions,  it  would  next 
be  asked,  Is  this  the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness, 
or  did  the  man  receive  it  from  common  report,  by 
which  it  may  have  grown  from  a  few  slight  cir- 
cumstances into  its  present  form?  And,  perhaps 
the  man,  if  he  were  honest,  would  come  forward 
and  say,  "I  did  not  exactly  witness  ttese  trans- 
actions; but  being  in  the  country  near  Paris, 
the  people  flocked  out  in  great  numbers,  and  from 
many  contradictory  stories,  I  gathered  what  I  have 
reported,  and  which  I  believe  to  be  true."  Or  he 
might  say,  that,  standing  on  an  eminence  not  far 
from  the  city,  he  saw  a  great  commotion  in  its 
streets.  The  soldiers  were  gathering  about  the 
palace,  and  parading  in  haste  to  the  principal  points 
of  defence.  The  citizens  also  thronged  the  resi- 
dence of  the  king,  and  appeared  to  enter  within  the 
doors.  Suddenly  when  he  expected  to  hear  the  roar 
of  musketry  and  the  thunder  of  cannon,  the  soldiers 


28  EVIDENCE  FROM   TESTIMONY. 

and  people  seemed  mingled  in  a  friendly  mass,  and 
personages  resembling  the  royal  family  were  seen 
escaping  as  fugitives  from  the  city. 

This  last  statement  concerning  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  saw  the  transaction  would  give  rise  to 
a  third  question,  namely,  whether  the  distance  at 
which  he  witnessed  these  circumstances  was  such  as 
to  make  it  quite  probable  that  he  observed  accurately. 
If  he  only  saw  a  commotion  of  the  soldiers  and 
people,  which  he  supposed  to  be  a  threatened  battle, 
and  then  a  friendly  mingling;  and  if  he  saw  persons 
who  from  some  not  very  remarkable  characteristics 
seemed  to  be  the  royal  family,  but  might  have  been 
some  other  persons  of  rank,  then  the  face  of  the 
whole  affair  is  changed.  He  might  easily  have 
been  mistaken. 

But  if  he  states  that,  being  in  Paris,  near  the 
palace,  he  saw  the  attack  of  the  people  in  great 
anger; — heard  the  cause  of  their  discontent  pro- 
claimed about  by  them;  noticed  the  command  to 
the  soldiers  to  disperse  the  multitude,  and  saw 
them  refuse,  and  finally,  with  shouts,  join  the 
citizens,  and  following  the  wishes  of  the  people  as 
they  surrounded  and  secured  the  palace ;  saw  them 
go  in,  and  saw  the  throne  of  state  tumbled  from  the 
window ;  and  if  to  all  this  he  adds  that  he  saw  the 
king  come  out  of  a  private  gate,  and  hastily  enter  a 
carriage  and  drive  off;  that  he  had  the  honour  of 
being  in  his  company  frequently;  he  addressed  a 


THE  QUESTIONS  RE-STATED.  29 

few  words  of  condolence  to  him  as  he  passed, 
and  received  his  card,  the  only  token  of  friend- 
ship which  he  happened  to  have  : — Such  a  state- 
ment would  have  made  a  different  impression. 

We  will  now  state  the  three  points  distinctly.  The 
bearer  of  the  news  is  a  person  of  well-known  charac- 
ter for  honesty ;  he  is  not  a  reckless,  hired  news- 
monger. This  establishes  the  first  point,  "  Is  he 
honest?"  (2.)  We  have  his  own  testimony,  and  not 
some  common  rumour  which  comes  at  second  or 
third  hands.  This  is  the  second  question,  "Is  it 
the  very  statement  made  by  the  author  of  the  re- 
port ?"  (3.)  And,  lastly,  we  have  it  plainly  declared 
that  he  was  not  on  a  distant  eminence  seeing  indis- 
tinctly the  transaction,  but  was  in  the  street  and 
near  the  place,  where  he  could  see  and  hear  every 
particular.  This  is  the  third  point,  "Was  he  in 
circumstances  to  know  what  he  stated  ?" 

When  any  important  fact  is  to  be  proved,  we  ask 
these  three  important  questions,  which  must  be 
answered  fully  before  the  point  is  established.  We 
will  place  them  in  order,  as  follows  : — 

1.  Have  we  the  exact  account  given  by  the  wit- 
nesses themselves  ? 

2.  Were  they  honest  men? 

3.  Were  they  in  a  situation  to  know  certainly 
what  they  stated  ? 

But  if  the  events  happened  a  great  many  years 
ago,  and  the  eye-witnesses  are  all  dead,  we  must 

3* 


30  EVIDENCE  FROM   TESTIMONY. 

then  resort  to  their  written  testimony,  proved  to  be 
their' s  by  undoubted  evidence.  The  following  case 
will  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  this  is  done. 

More  than  three  hundred  years  have  passed  away 
since  a  very  extraordinary  man,  named  Martin  Lu- 
ther, lived  in  Germany.  He  was  at  first  a  monk 
in  the  papal  church,  and  was  very  much  devoted  to 
that  corrupt  form  of  Christianity.  But  he  found  in 
its  austerities  and  ceremonies  no  peace  for  a  mind 
convinced  of  its  sinfulness  in  the  sight  of  God.  After 
much  inward  perplexity,  Providence  placed  in  his 
hands  a  Bible.  He  read  it,  and  learned  that  the 
way  of  salvation  is  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  not  by 
any  works  of  righteousness  which  man  can  do.  His 
sorrow  was  turned  into  joy.  He  began  immediate- 
ly, like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  to  preach  the  way  of  salva- 
tion by  faith  alone.  He  attacked  the  wicked 
practices  of  the  papal  church.  The  pope  sent  his 
ministers  to  turn  him  from  his  new  faith.  They 
met  him  in  a  public  discussion.  They  persuaded, 
flattered,  and  threatened  him.  But  all  did  not 
avail.  He  continued  to  write,  and  preach,  and  de- 
bate, until  the  pope  upon  his  throne  trembled.  A 
great  reformation  in  religion,  commenced  by  him 
and  his  companions  in  labour,  spread  through  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  France  and  England;  and  to 
this  day,  the  world  rejoices  in  its  influence. 

A  life  of  Luther  has  lately  been  written  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Sears,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  which  is, 


THE  ILLUSTRATION   CONTINUED.  31 

or  should  be  in  all  of  our  Sunday-schools.  My 
readers  have  read  it,  I  hope,  or  they  can  go  to  their 
libraries  and  get  it  and  read  it.  Dr.  Sears  pro- 
fesses to  give  an  accurate  account  of  the  doctrines 
which  Luther  taught,  of  the  manner  in  which  his 
public  life  was  spent;  and  in  many  cases  he  professes 
to  give  the  very  words  which  he  uttered.  No  one,  as  I 
am  aware,  doubts  that  he  does,  in  truth,  do  all  this. 

The  question  which  I  wish  the  reader  to  consider 
is,  how  can  Dr.  Sears,  three  hundred  years  after  Lu- 
ther's death,  know  all  these  facts  ?  This  question 
is  answered  in  his  history.  Among  many  other 
books  from  which  he  obtained  his  information,  he 
refers  to  a  certain  old  "Life  of  Luther/'  written 
by  Luther's  personal  and  intimate  friend,  Philip 
Melancthon.  This  biography  was  published  during 
the  life  of  many  who  knew  Luther,  both  friends 
and  enemies,  and  its  statements  were  not  disputed. 
To  get  the  materials  out  of  which  to  prepare  his 
history,  Dr.  Sears  went  to  Germany,  and  travelled 
over  all  parts  of  the  country  where  Luther  is  said  to 
have  lived  and  preached,  saw  the  places  of  most  inte- 
rest connected  with  the  extraordinary  incidents  of  his 
career,  and  collected  medals  that  were  struck  in  honour 
of  his  life  and  memory.  He  also  finds  many  authors 
quoting  from  this  work  of  Melancthon,  and  some 
of  those  who  lived  very  nearly  at  the  same  period.  .1 

We  will  then  suppose  that  Dr.  Sears  goes  into 
France  while  writing  his  history,  and  finds  histories 


32  EVIDENCE   FROM  TESTIMONY. 

of  "The  Reformation/'  written  by  Papists  and  Pro- 
testants, published  at  different  periods,  all  quoting, 
more  or  less,  from  this  Life  of  Luther  by  Me- 
lanethon.  He  enters  England,  searches  the  old 
libraries,  and  finds  many  English  writers,  some  of 
these  having  lived  very  near  Luther's  day,  quoting 
this  very  life  of  him  by  his  friend  Melancthon. 
He  compares  the  quotations,  and  finds  that,  put 
together,  they  make  nearly  the  whole  life,  and  that 
they  agree  with  each  other,  German,  French,  and 
English  authors,  and  agree  also  with  the  copy  of 
"Luther's  Life  by  Melancthon,"  which  professes  to 
have  been  copied,  from  time  to  time,  from  the  very 
one  which  the  author  wrote  with  his  own  hands. 

Now  would  it  not  be  very,  VERY  strange  that  all 
these  authors,  of  different  ages  and  different  coun- 
tries, some  friends,  and  some  enemies  to  Luther,  in 
quoting  from  Melancthon' s  Life  of  Luther,  should 
agree,  if  it  was  not  the  very  same  biography 
which  Melancthon  wrote.  But  Melancthon  saw 
and  knew  what  he  wrote  about,  and  this  is  the 
way  in  which  the  statements  of  the  eye-witness  are 
obtained,  though  he  may  have  been  dead  many  hun- 
dred years.  I  shall  show,  in  the  next  section,  that  in 
this  way,  though  by  much  stronger  proof,  we  know 
what  the  manner  of  Christ's  life  was,  what  were  the 
doctrines  he  taught,  and  the  miracles  he  performed. 

We  might  take  up  the  second  question  again, 
and  applying  it  to  this  case,  ask  "  Was  Melancthon 


APPLICATION   OF   THE   ILLUSTRATION.          33 

honest  ?"  To  this  Dr.  Sears  would  doubtless  answer 
by  pointing  to  the  fact  that  even  his  enemies  did 
not  call  in  question  his  honesty  in  his  lifetime 
with  regard  to  these  statements.  Besides  he  got 
nothing  but  reproach  for  espousing  Luther's  cause, 
and  lost  the  favour  of  the  rich,  the  learned,  and  the 
great.  He  had  no  reason  for  dishonesty. 

We  might  apply  the  third  question,  and  ask, 
"  Was  Melancthon  in  a  situation  to  know  certainly 
what  he  stated?"  We  have  already  answered  this, 
by  saying  that  he  was  the  companion  and  confident 
friend  of  Luther  during  nearly  his  whole  life,  at  least 
during  that  part  of  it  concerning  which  he  writes. 

SECTION  II. — Have  we  the  very  Statements  of  the  Authors 
of  the  New  Testament? 

WE  have  a  brief  life  of  Jesus  Christ  by  four 
authors,  whose  names  are  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John.  Besides  these,  we  have  twenty-three 
other  books,  teaching  the  same  doctrines  which  he 
taught — all  professing  to  be  written  not  far  from 
the  same  time,  constituting  unitedly  what  we  call 
the  New  Testament.  These  twenty-three  books 
were  written  by  Paul,  James,  Peter,  Jude  and 
John.  Is  the  book  which  we  call  the  New  Testa- 
ment just  what  they  wrote  ?  This  question  can  be 
determined  in  the  affirmative,  by  the  same  kind  of 
proof  which  showed  that  the  old  "  Life  of  Luther" 
was  the  one  written  by  Melancthon. 


34  EVIDENCE  FROM   TESTIMONY. 

If  we  go  to  Rome,  in  Italy,  we  shall  find  in  the 
libraries  there,  many  books,  written  by  different 
Italian  authors  of  every  age,  back  to  Clement  of 
Rome,  who  had  seen  the  apostles  and  conversed 
with  them,*  all  of  whom  refer  to  these  sacred 
books,  and  quote  freely  from  them.  If  we  search 
the  ancient  libraries  of  France,  we  shall  find 
authors  making  numerous  quotations  from  the 
game  books  up  to  the  celebrated  Irenseus,  bishop  of 
Lyons,  who  lived  but  a  short  time  after  the  death 
of  the  apostle  John.  If  we  go  to  Africa,  we  find 
a  series  of  writers  bearing  the  same  testimony  up 
to  Tertullian,  in  the  second  century.  A  fourth 
series  are  found  in  Syria  up  to  Ignatius,  bishop  of 
Antioch,  in  A.  D.  107.  A  fifth  are  found  in  Asia 
Minor,  up  to  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna. 

If  I  should  gather  together  these  many  hundreds 
of  books,  and  find  in  them  quotations  from  our  New 
Testament,  so  numerous,  that  together  they  made 
nearly  the  whole  volume,  and  should  find  that  the 
quotations  agreed  with  each  other,  and  that  they 
also  agreed  with  copies  of  this  Testament  which 
professed  to  be  handed  down  from  the  apostles,  I 
should  have  a  right  to  say,  (C  Our  Testament  con- 
tains the  original  writings  of  its  authors/'  How 
could  these  writers,  many  of  them  enemies  to  the 
Christian  religion,  and  enemies  to  each  other, 

*Phil.iv.3. 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.     35 

living  in  different  countries  and  ages,  and  writing 
in  different  languages,  agree,  unless  they  all  quoted 
from  the  same  books,  and  those  are  the  same  books 
which  we  have.  These  many  writings  to  which  I 
have  referred  have  been  found  and  read  by  learned 
men,  and  we  believe  the  statement  of  their  ex- 
istence upon  the  same  grounds  that  we  believe  the 
statement  that  different  writers  have  quoted  from 
the  old  Life  of  Luther  by  Melancthon. 

But  if  we  turn  from  the  quotations,  and  examine 
the  Life  of  Christ  and  his  doctrines,  that  is  the 
New  Testament  itself,  and  trace  its  history,  we 
shall  find  still  more  astonishing  proof  that  we  have 
the  original  testimony  which  we  desire.  Less  than 
one  hundred  years  ago,  some  opposers  of  the  Bible 
declared  that  it  had  been  so  altered  since  it  was 
first  written,  that  it  was  now  very  different  from 
what  it  was  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  They 
said  that  the  different  copies  and  the  various  li- 
braries of  the  ancient  churches  differed  in  many 
thousand  passages.  This  led  pious  and  learned 
men  to  devote  their  whole  lives  to  the  business  of 
collecting  all  the  manuscripts  of  the  various  books 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  comparing  them  together. 
After  many  years  of  incredible  labour,  they  found, 
in  various  parts  of  the  world,  nearly  five  hundred 
of  these  manuscripts ;  and,  instead  of  many  thou- 
sand differences,  they  found  that  they  were  so 
much  alike  that  they  all  taught  the  same  doctrine ; 


36  EVIDENCE  FROM  TESTIMONY. 

that  they  differed  scarcely  at  all,  except  in  the  or- 
thography and  use  of  words  which  meant  the  same 
thing;  and  that  even  these  disagreements  were  few, 
and  confined  generally  to  two  or  three  manuscripts, 
while  the  greatest  number  were  just  alike.  The 
reader  will  find  the  specimen  of  these  differences, 
which  I  am  about  to  give,  very  interesting  and  re- 
markable. I  will  copy  from  the  "Inspiration  of 
the  Bible,  by  Gaussen,"  every  variation  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Komans,  that  has  been  found  in  all 
the  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  world.  In  one 
column  is  the  received  translation,  and  in  the 
other  the  variations. 

EPISTLE  TO   THE  KOMANS. 

Received  translation.  Variations. 

VERSE  CHAPTER  I. 

16.  Of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Of  the  gospel. 

24.  Wherefore  also.  Wherefore. 

29.  Of  injustice,  of  impurity,  of    Of  injustice,  of  wickedness. 

wickedness. 
31.  Without   natural  affection,     Without  natural  affection,  without 

implacable,  without  mercy.         mercy. 

CHAPTER  III. 

22.  To  all,  and  upon  all  them     Tc  all  them  that  believe. 

that  believe. 
28-  We  then  conclude.  We  conclude  in  fact. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  Abraham  our  father.  Abraham  our  ancestor. 

19.  And  not  being  weak  in  faith,     He  looked  not,  feeble  in  faith,  to 
he  looked  not  at,  &c. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

6.  That  in  which  being  dead.         Being  dead  to  that  in  which. 
26.  I  render  thanks  to  God.  Thanks  be  to  God. 


SPECIMENS   OF  VARIATIONS.  37 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

11.  By  his  Spirit  On  account  of  his  spirit. 

26.  To  our  infirmities.  To  our  infirmity. 

Prays  for  us,  with  groaning?,     Prays  with  groanings. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

31.  Works  of  the  law.  Works. 

82.  For  they.  They. 

S3.  Whosoever.  Who. 

CHAPTER  X. 

1.  For  Israel.  For  them  (referring  to  Israel.) 

CHAPTER  XI. 

2.  Against  Israel,  saying,  Lord.  Against  Israel,  Lord. 

6.  If  it  is  by  grace,  then  it  is  If  it  is  by  grace,  is  no  more  by 

no  more  of  works ;  other-  works ;    otherwise   grace  is  no 

wise    grace    is     no   more  more  grace, 
grace;    but    if  it    be    of 
works,  then  it  is  no  more 
grace,  otherwise  work    is 
no  more  work. 

30.  You  yourselves  were.  You  were. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

11.  Serving  the  Lord.  Serving  the  opportunity. 

20.  If  then  thine  enemy.  If  thine  enemy. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

9.  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou  shalt 

shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  not  covet, 
thou  shalt  not  covet. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

7.  Received  you.  Received  us. 

8.  Now  I  say.  For  I  say. 
19.  Of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Of  the  Spirit. 

24.  I  will  go  towards  you  when  When  I  shall  depart  to  go  into 

I  shall  depart  to  go  into  Spain,  I  hope  to  see  you. 
Spain,  and  I  hope  to  see  you. 

29.  With  abundance  of  blessings  With  abundance  of  Christ's  bene- 

from  the  gospel  of  Christ.  diction. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
3  Priscilla.  Prisca. 

5.  Of  Achaia.  Of  Asia. 

6.  For  us.  For  you. 

18.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Our  Lord  Christ 

4 


38  EVIDENCE   FROM   TESTIMONY. 

Here  are  all  the  corrections  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  one  of  the  longest  and  most  important 
books  in  the  sacred  volume,  having  four  hundred  and 
thirty-three  verses,  and  ninety-six  Greek  words  not 
found  in  any  other  part  of  the  New  Testament.  And 
no  other  book  has  any  more  corrections  than  this ! 

"  Such  is  the  astonishing  preservation  of  the 
Greek  manuscripts,  in  which  has  been  transmitted 
to  us  the  New  Testament.  After  having  been 
copied  and  re-copied  so  many  times  in  Asia,  Europe, 
and  Africa;  in  convents,  in  colleges,  in  palaces,  or 
in  parsonages;  and  that  almost  without  interruption 
for  fifteen  hundred  years;  after  that,  during  the 
last  three  centuries,  and  especially  the  last  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  so  many  noble  characters,  so 
many  ingenious  minds,  so  many  learned  lives  have 
been  consumed  in  labours  till  then  unrivalled  in 
their  extent,  and  admirable  in  their  sagacity;  after 
all  the  Greek  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament, 
buried  in  private,  or  monastic,  or  public  libraries, 
both  Eastern  and  Western,  have  been  searched;  after 
they  have  compared  with  them  not  only  all  the 
ancient  versions  of  the  Scriptures,  but  also  all  the 
ancient  fathers  who  have  cited  them  in  their  innu- 
merable writings,  both  in  Latin  and  in  Greek ;  after 
so  many  researches,  see,  by  our  specimen,  what  they 
have  been  able  to  find  !" 

Surely  we  have  the  original  testimony  of  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament. 


AN   OBJECTION   ANSWERED.  39 


SECTION  III. —  Were  the  Writers  of  the  New  Testament 
honest? 

I  have  said  much  about  the  history  of  "  The  He- 
formation"  as  it  is  called,  and  of  Martin  Luther,  its 
great  author  under  God,  in  illustration  of  this  sub- 
ject. I  will  refer  to  it  further  in  illustration  of 
this  section,  because  I  suppose  my  readers  are 
acquainted  with  its  history.  Let  us  suppose  that 
a  person  rises  up  and  says,  "I  allow  that  Dr.  Sears, 
has  given  us  the  life  and  doctrines  of  Luther  just 
as  Melancthon  and  other  friends  of  his  wrote  them ; 
but  they  were  dishonest  men.  They  were  interested 
in  writing  as  they  did ;  they  had  their  own  private 
ends  to  secure/'  In  answer,  Dr.  Sears  may  say, 
"  How  could  that  be  ?  Melancthon  was  educated  and 
lived  a  papist,  strongly  attached  to  the  church  of 
Rome  up  to  the  time  that  Luther  began  to  preach 
his  peculiar  doctrines  and  perform  his  wonderful 
works.  In  stating  what  he  did,  he  went  against  all 
the  prejudices  of  his  youth  and  all  the  strength 
of  his  long  cherished  notions  of  religion."  And 
he  might  further  say,  that  this  Melancthon  was 
slow,  in  many  cases,  to  receive  Luther* s  doctrine, 
and  even  at  one  time  came  near  conceding  all  that 
Luther  had  opposed  in  the  papal  church,  for  the 
sake  of  reconciliation  with  it.  Still  further,  that 
this  Melancthon  had  every  reason,  of  a  selfish  kind, 
to  hide  the  truth  rather  than  publish  it.  His  life  was 


40  EVIDENCE   FROM   TESTIMONY. 

every  moment  endangered  by  what  he  did.  Many 
of  his  friends  were  tortured  in  the  most  cruel  way ; 
some  died  a  lingering  death  at  the  hands  of  their 
common  enemies.  From  being  honoured,  his  name 
was  everywhere  cast  out  as  evil.  Besides  all  this, 
Melancthon's  enemies  never  charged  him  with  dis- 
honesty. They  believed,  living  in  his  own  day  and 
having  it  in  their  power  to  disprove  every  statement 
Tie  made  of  Luther's  life  and  doctrines,  if  they  were 
untrue.  But  even  they  believed  what  he  stated  as 
facts,  though  they  tried  to  refer  them  to  wrong 
motives,  or  to  put  an  injurious  construction  upon 
them.  Surely  you  must  say,  the  charge  of  disho- 
nesty is  not  true.  Every  candid  man  does  say  so, 
for  the  world  believes  the  whole  history. 

Let  us  apply  this  reasoning  to  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament.  "  Were  they  honest  ?" — Did  they 
write  what  they  believed  to  be  true  ?  I  answer,  the 
writers  were  Jews,  the  very  people,  of  all  others, 
most  opposed  to  Christ,  and  to  all  he  taught.  Their 
early  prejudices  and  long  cherished  notions  of  re- 
ligion were  all  against  what  they  wrote.  They  were 
slow  to  believe  his  claims  to  be  the  Messiah,  and 
opposed  his  doctrines,  up  to  the  very  time  of  his 
death.  They  were  told  by  Christ  himself,  that  the 
world  would  hate  them — that  in  it  they  should  have 
tribulation — and  that  whosoever  killed  them  would 
think  he  did  God  service.  This  they  soon  found  to 
be  true.  They  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  even 


THE  WRITERS'  PREJUDICES.  41 

of  life  itself,  yet  they  persisted  in  their  testimony — 
a  testimony  not  concerning  a  religious  faith  mainly, 
but  of  occurrences  of  which  they  declared  they  had 
been  eye-witnesses. 

Besides,  they  speak  like  honest  men.  If  they 
are  telling  that  their  Master  walked  upon  the  sea? 
that  he  fed  thousands  with  a  few  loaves  of  bread; 
that  he  healed  the  sick  or  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
blind,  raised  the  dead,  they  state  the  facts  without 
a  word  of  comment.  When  they  describe  his  cruci- 
fixion, it  is  with  no  expressions  of  reproach  upon 
his  enemies  nor  of  sympathy  for  the  sufferer. 
"  And  there  they  crucified  him,"  is  at  once  the 
language  of  simple  truthfulness,  and  of  touching  sim- 
plicity. There  is  no  effort  to  prevent  misapprehen- 
sion, indicating  a  fear  of  detection.  So  far  from  it, 
there  is  almost  a  careless  ease  manifested,  where  we 
should  suppose  they  must  know  every  word  would 
be  sifted  and  weighed.  And  lastly,  they  speak  of 
their  own  faults  and  hold  themselves  up  to  the 
world,  in  connection  with  the  history  they  write, 
often  in  the  most  unfavourable  view.  Could  all  this 
be  if  they  were  dishonest  men  ? 

Similar  facts  connected  with  other  historical 
books  have  been  received  with  unhesitating  confi- 
dence by  the  world.  When  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  put  forth  claims  to  honesty  upon 
similar  evidence,  the  world,  to  be  consistent,  must 
not  doubt  tJieir  statements. 
4* 


42  EVIDENCE  FROM   TESTIMONY. 

SECTION  IV . —  Were  these  Writers  in  a  Situation  to 
know  certainly  what  they  state? 

WE  need  say  but  few  words  under  this  head.  If 
we  have  proved,  as  we  think  we  have,  that  the  gos- 
pel contains  the  real  testimony  of  the  witnesses,  and 
that  they  were  honest,  then  we  must  believe  them 
when  they  say  that  they  were  Christ's  companions 
in  his  travels,  and  during  his  entire  ministry ;  that 
they  were  upon  the  water  with  him;  that  they 
heard  his  command  to  the  waves  "  Be  still/'  and 
saw  the  calm  which  ensued;  that  they  handled  "the 
few  loaves"  which  he  blessed,  gave  them  to  the  mul- 
titude, and  took  up  the  twelve  baskets  of  fragments; 
that  they  knew  Lazarus  who  was  sick,  saw  his  weep- 
ing sisters,  and  heard  the  testimony  (undenied  by 
opposing  Jews)  a  that  he  has  been  dead  four  days 
already ;"  that  they  heard  his  command  to  the 
dead  to  "  come  forth/'  and  saw  their  friend  Lazarus 
start  up  from  the  tomb  with  his  grave-clothes  on ;  in 
short,  no  miracle  was  hidden  from  them, — nothing 
was  done  in  secret ;  they  saw  him  dragged  away  to 
Pilate's  bar;  they  witnessed  his  toilsome  journey 
to  Calvary;  they  beheld  him  hanging  upon  the 
tree ;  they  saw  the  darkness,  felt  the  shock  of  the 
earthquake,  and  heard  his  expiring  prayer!  In 
company  with  watchful  enemies,  they  looked  upon 
his  lifeless  body.  On  the  third  day  after  his  resur- 
rection some  of  their  company  saw  him  alive,  and 
through  the  space  of  forty  days  after,  they  all  saw 


A    CASE    SUPPOSED.  43 

him  frequently  and  at  different  places — they  ate 
with  him — handled  his  body — heard  him  converse ; 
and  finally  they  stood  "  gazing  up  into  heaven" 
while  he  ascended  in  a  clou-d  in  the  sight  of  an 
assembly  of  more  than  five  hundred  persons. 

Surely,  they  were  more  than  dishonest,  they  were 
above  expression  wicked  in  heart  and  life,  if  they 
did  not  see  what  they  declare  they  saw.  And 
moreover,  such  assertions  if  not  true,  would  have 
been  contradicted  at  the  very  time  they  were  made. 

SECTION  V. — The  Testimony  of  the  Writers  of  the  New 
Testament  confirmed. 

IF  a  man  should  be  tried  in  a  court  of  justice 
for  stealing,  and  two  men  of  good  character  should 
testify  that  they  saw  him  in  the  very  act,  and  there 
should  be  no  conflicting  testimony,  the  jury  would 
be  fully  satisfied  of  his  guilt.  But  still,  if  some 
pieces  of  money  known  to  be  the  same  that  were 
stolen  were  found  about  his  person,  this  circumstance 
would  be  regarded  as  a  strong  confirmation  of  the 
testimony. 

We  have  probably  all  read  the  history  of  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  with  great  interest.  We 
have  fancied  we  could  see  Charlestown  wrapt  in 
devouring  flames,  and  hear  the  roar  of  musketry 
and  cannon  from  the  surrounding  heights.  Who 
ever  doubted  the  correctness  of  the  history?  But 
if  you  should  go  on  to  that  same  battle-ground, 


44  EVIDENCE   FROM   TESTIMONY. 

and  gaze  upon  the  noble  granite  monument  whose  top 
rises  towards  the  clouds,  you  would  feel  that  here 
is  an  evidence  that  such  a  battle  was  fought,  confirm- 
ing the  historical  statement.  So  long  as  that  pile 
stands,  defying  the  winds  and  storms,  so  long  will  it 
defy  all  unbelief  of  the  event  it  commemorates. 

More  than  three  thousand  years  ago  the  sacred 
historian  recorded  the  fact,  that  in  one  night  all  the 
first-born,  both  of  man  and  beasts,  of  the  Egyp- 
tians were  slain,  and  that  the  first-born  of  the 
Israelites,  in  the  same  land,  were  spared.  Now  if 
you  should  chance  to  find  a  company  of  Israelites  at 
this  very  day,  in  sufficient  numbers  to  have  stated 
worship — whether  they  were  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa, 
or  America — you  would  see  them,  at  a  certain 
period  of  the  year,  celebrating  the  "  passing  over" 
of  the  angel  of  death,  when  he  spared  the  first-born 
of  their  fathers.  If  you  should  visit  Egypt,  as 
travellers  inform  us,  you  would  see  the  Egyptians 
at  the  same  period  of  the  year,  rising  up  at  mid- 
night, lighting  torches  and  going  through  their 
dwellings,  howling  as  if  for  the  dead.*  These 
customs  confirm  the  testimony  of  the  historian. 

*  It  is  a  matter  of  common  history  that  the  Egyp- 
tians were  in  the  habit  for  thousands  of  years,  even  down 
to  modern  times,  of  rising  at  midnight  on  a  certain  day 
of  the  year,  and  lighting  candles,  going  about  the  house 
weeping  and  groaning  until  midnight. — Nelson's  Cause  and 
Cure  of  Infidelity- -New  York  edition,  ch.  Ixiii,  1837,  p.  292. 


FOURTH  OF  JULY.  45 

The  history  of  the  United  States  declares,  that 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  a  "  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence" was  adopted  and  publicly  announced  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  On  every  successive  year 
since  1776,  the  4th  of  July  has  been  observed  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  States,  by  enthusiastic  rejoic- 
ings ;  and  all  this  confirms  the  testimony  of  history, 
and  will  not  fail  to  do  so,  so  long  as  they  are  con- 
tinued. 

The  writers  of  Christ's  history  say  that  he  was 
crucified — that  his  body  was  broken  and  his  blood 
shed  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  They  state  that 
on  a  certain  occasion  he  directed  that  wine  should 
be  drunk  and  bread  eaten  by  his  disciples,  in  mem- 
ory of  his  sufferings  and  death,  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  Christian  church,  in  all  ages  and 
countries,  to  this  day  have  observed  this  rite  or 
ceremony.  It  is  called  "  The  Lord's  Supper/' 
These  same  writers  also  state  that  he  command- 
ed all  his  disciples  to  be  baptized  "in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost/'  In  every 
place  where  that  gospel  is  known,  this  solemn 
sacrament  is  also  observed.  Still  further,  these 
witnesses  affirm  that,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  preaching  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ  by  his  dis- 
ciples, a  church  was  formed  and  a  ministry  estab- 
lished as  a  part  of  the  gospel  system.  That  church 
and  that  ministry  are  found  universally,  to  this  day, 
in  connection  with  that  gospel.  These  are  the 


46  EVIDENCE   FROM   TESTIMONY. 

monuments  of  the  events  which  they  have  recorded 
— the  confirmation  of  their  testimony.  When 
Christians  partake  of  the  bread  and  wine,  they  do 
"  show  forth  the  Lord's  death ;" — in  baptism  they 
acknowledge  that  they  believe  in  Christ  for  salva- 
tion. Thus  they  have  done  in  all  ages.  It  would 
be  as  reasonable  for  Americans  to  doubt  that 
our  independence  was  declared  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1776 — though  each  return  of  the  day  is  distinguish- 
ed by  the  nation's  joy  in  commemoration  of  that 
event — as  to  doubt  that  Christ  was  crucified,  when 
they  see  the  memorials  of  his  death  in  these  sacred 
solemnities  of  his  professed  followers. 

SECTION  VI. — Concerning  the  Testimony  of  the  Wmters 
of  the  Old  Testament. 

WE  have  shown  that  we  have  the  writings  of  the 
authors  of  the  New  Testament,  unimpaired;  that 
they  were  honest  men,  and  had  ample  opportunity 
to  know  what  they  wrote. 

Now,  the  New  Testament  writers  speak  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  God's  Book.  They  quote  from 
almost  every  part  of  it,  calling  it  the  "  holy  Scrip- 
tures," and  say  it  is  all  given  by  "inspiration  of 
God,"  and  that  "holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

As  soon  as  we  commence  the  book  of  Matthew, 
we  find  an  account  of  the  ancestors  of  Christ,  pre- 
served in  the  Old  Testament.  The  prophets  are 


THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  47 

referred  to  immediately ;  and  Christ  says,  "  All 
things  must  be  fulfilled  which  are  written  in  the  law 
of  Moses,  and  in  the  Psalms,  and  in  the  Prophets, 
concerning  me,"  thus  recognising  the  three  general 
divisions  of  the  Old  Testament,  viz. : — 1.  The 
historical  books.  2.  The  poetical  writings.  3. 
The  writings  of  the  prophets. 

The  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Testament  have 
been  preserved  in  the  same  wonderful  manner  as 
those  of  the  New,  and  their  authors  afford  the  same 
eridence  of  honesty,  and  had  the  same  abundant 
opportunity  to  know  what  they  testified.  There- 
fore, if  we  receive  the  testimony  of  the  writers  of 
one,  we  D>ust  receive  that  of  the  others. 


48        EVIDENCE  FROM  MIRACLES. 


TOWER  III. 

EVIDENCE  FROM  MIRACLES. 

SECTION  I. — General  Illustration  of  the  Subject  of 
Miracles. 

MANY  great  and  wonderful  things  are  done  by 
man  which  are  not  miracles.  I  will  endeavour  to 
illustrate  the  difference  between  such  acts  and  those 
which  are  called  miraculous. 

When,  on  November  7,  1848,  the  three  millions 
of  voters  in  the  United  States  were  going  to  the 
ballot-box  to  elect  a  President  or  Chief  Magistrate, 
each  section  of  the  country  was  anxious  to  hear  from 
the  other.  As  the  election  was  on  the  same  day  in 
all  parts  of  the  land,  every  means  were,  of  course, 
used  to  convey  the  news  of  the  result  as  speedily 
as  possible.  Probably  these  votes  were  not  counted 
earlier  than  3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  in  any  place.  At  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  next  day,  (in  about  nineteen 
hours,)  the  people  in  the  centre  of  Massachusetts 
received  returns  from  all  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States,  with  the  returns  from  the  large  CITIES  of 


THE   MAGNETIC   TELEGRAPH.  49 

most  of  the  Western  and  Southern  States,  sufficient- 
ly full  from  each  to  determine  their  general  charac- 
ter. When  we  remember  the  many  thousands  of 
miles  that  part  of  this  intelligence  had  to  come,  the 
wide  extent  of  country  from  which  it  was  collected, 
and  the  out-of-the-way  position  of  hundreds  of  the 
towns  and  cities,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  acknowledge 
that  it  was  a  great  and  wonderful  circumstance. 

Our  readers  understand,  at  once,  how  this  intelli- 
gence was  conveyed.  The  Magnetic  Telegraph 
wrought  the  wonder.  If  we  had  entered  the  tele- 
graph office  in  Cincinnati  at  the  time,  we  should 
have  seen  a  man  at  work,  at  a  very  curious  piece  of 
machinery.  Tick  !  tick !  tick !  and  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  the  news  is  at  Pittsburg.  Tick !  tick ! 
tick!  again  goes  the  curious  instrument,  and  the 
votes  are  all  recorded  at  Philadelphia.  Thus  after 
a  few  ticks  j  the  printers  in  Boston  are  setting  up 
the  returns  from  the  most  distant  city  of  the  West, 
situated  in  what  but  a  few  years  ago  was  consi- 
dered an  almost  inaccessible  wilderness.  Thus  men 
speed  their  thoughts  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  vast  country,  on  the  wings  of  the  lightning. 

Go  into  the  mills  of  one  of  our  large  manufac- 
turing cities.  How  like  a  thing  of  life  does  the 
machinery  move !  The  large  and  small  wheels,  the 
shuttles,  the  spindles,  and  even  the  material  which 
is  manufactured,  seem  to  know  their  place,  and  to 
move  with  the  order,  precision  and  understanding 


50  EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

of  living  creatures.  A  few  men  and  young  women, 
or  perhaps  small  boys,  stand  around  watching  the 
operations,  as  if  only  prompting  or  suggesting  what 
equal  minds  were  doing.  From  the  raw  cotton  we  soon 
see  the  elegantly  baled  cloth; — or  from  the  rough- 
est looking  material,  the  most  beautifully  wrought 
carpet, — or  from  dirty  rags,  the  finest  writing  paper. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  nature  of  these  wonderful 
operations.  Without  attempting  to  explain  them 
fully,  we  can  state  a  few  of  the  principles  connected 
with  them.  God  has  made  a  very  subtle  fluid, 
called  electricity,  remarkable  for  the  rapidity  of  its 
motion.  Man,  by  his  power  of  mind  which  his 
Creator  has  conferred  upon  him,  has  contrived  to 
use  this  fluid  to  convey  intelligence,  by  the  same  wis- 
dom that  led  him  to  use  water  to  turn  his  wheels,  and 
steam  to  propel  his  cars.  This  fluid  is  subject  to 
laws  or  invariable  rules,  just  as  water  and  steam  are. 
When  he  has  ascertained  the  nature  of  this  agent 
and  the  laws  which  govern  it,  he  applies  it  to  a  cer- 
tain purpose.  It  becomes  a  piece  of  common  know- 
ledge among  men,  and  is  made  to  work  on  with 
frequent  improvements  from  age  to  age.  So  in 
the  manufactory.  Here  are  contrivances  which  will 
doubtless  continue  to  ^be  used  in  the  same  way,  for 
the  same  purposes,  so  long  as  men  have  any  interest 
in  employing  them. 

It  is  related  by  Weems,  as  one  of  the  traditions 
about  George  Washington,  that  when  he  was  a  small 


STORY  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.      51 

boy,  his  father  adopted  a  very  wise  plan  to  impress 
upon  his  mind  the  great  truth  that  there  is  a  God 
who  made  all  things.  The  story  may  be  used,  on 
such  authority  as  we  have,  for  a  very  different, 
though,  I  think,  an  equally  appropriate  purpose. 
George,  one  day,  came  running,  out  of  breath,  to  his 
father,  exclaiming,  "  Father !  0  father  !  Do  come 
and  see  what  I  have  found  in  the  garden.  You 
never  saw  any  thing  so  wonderful !  Do  come  quick." 
Taking  his  father  by  the  arm,  he  pulled  him  along 
into  the  garden,  his  eyes  all  the  while  sparkling 
with  delight,  and  showed  him,  marked  out  by  green 
plants,  just  shooting  from  the  ground,  the  name  of 
"  George  Washington."  "  There,  father,"  said  he, 
"  did  you  ever  see  any  thing  like  it  ?  My  name 
growing  in  this  bed  !" 

Well  might  he  be  surprised  at  so  unusual  a  sight. 
But  any  of  my  readers  who  can  write  can  go  into  the 
garden  in  the  spring,  and  prepare  a  piece  of  ground 
by  breaking  the  earth  up  and  giving  it  a  fine  even 
surface,  and  then  in  the  mellow  soil  mark  out  a  name. 
We  may  then  drop  into  the  lines  which  are  so  marked 
some  flower  or  vegetable  seeds,  and,  of  course,  they 
will  come  up  in  the  shape  of  the  name.  All  this 
happens  according  to  established  laws  of  nature. 

I  will  now  attempt  to  explain  the  difference 
between  these  wonderful  things  and  miracles.  If 
the  man  who  arranges  the  telegraphs  in  this  coun- 
try, instead  of  using  the  laws  God  has  fixed,  and 


52  EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

by  which  electricity  is  governed,  should  have  stood 
in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  and  pointing  to  a  cloud 
from  which  the  lightning  was  flashing,  have  said, 
"  Let  that  lightning  record  the  votes  of  this  city  this 
moment,  in  the  Boston  Post  Office;"  and  if  the  light- 
ning had  obeyed,  so  that  the  result  of  the  Western 
elections  had  been  known  in  a  few  hours  throughout 
New  England,  that  would  have  been  a  miracle.  Or, 
if  the  same  person  professing  to  teach  some  great 
truth,  sent  directly  from  God,  had  performed  this  act 
in  the  presence  of  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  proving  that  God  sent  him  to  teach 
that  truth,  then  it  would  have  been  a  miracle,  and  of 
the  same  character  with  those  recorded  in  the  Bible. 
If  some  great  machinist  should  enter .  a  manu- 
factory, and,  instead  of  fitting  one  wheel  to  another, 
or  placing  some  band  so  as  to  move  distant  and 
different  sets  of  wheels,  using  well-known  rules  all 
the  way  through,  and  applying  the  power  of  water 
or  steam,  to  set  them  in  motion,  should  touch  the 
bales  of  raw  cotton  and  say,  "Let  these  become 
bales  of  cloth,  ready  for  the  market/'  and  they 
should  become  such,  that  would  be  a  miracle.  He 
would  use  no  laws  by  which  God  has  made  it  pos- 
sible for  man  to  change  raw  cotton  into  cloth,  but 
the  result  would  be  contrary  to  such  laws.  Nor 
could  another  man  do  the  same,  though  he  should 
have  seen  the  manner  in  which  the  machinist 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and  heard  the  very  words 


FURTHER   APPLICATIONS.  53 

and  tone  which  he  used,  and  should  stand  in  the 
same  spot  and  imitate  him  perfectly. 

If  Washington's  father  had  taken  his  little  son 
into  the  garden  in  the  month  of  January,  and, 
taking  his  cane,  had  marked  his  name  on  the 
ground,  and  said,  "Let  green  plants  spring  up 
instantly  in  the  marks  which  I  make" — and  the 
name  had  immediately  appeared,  to  the  delight  and 
surprise  of  his  son,  that  would  have  been  a  miracle. 
He  would  have  used  none  of  the  laws  which  God 
has  established,  to  govern  the  springing  forth  of 
plants,  but  he  would  have  acted  above  or  contrary 
to  those  laws. 

Dr.  Franklin  sent  up  a  paper  kite  among  the 
clouds  when  they  were  black  and  all  ready  to  dis- 
charge their  electric  fluid,  and  drew  the  lightning 
down,  all  according  to  a  law  of  attraction  which 
God  had  given  it.  He  did  not  command  it  to  come ; 
and  any  scientific  man  or  boy  can  at  any  time  do 
the  same.  Robert  Fulton  entered  a  boat  on  the 
Hudson  river,  and,  after  great  toil  and  study  and 
expense,  applied  the  power  of  steam  according  to  law, 
and  propelled  the  boat  against  the  current.  He  did 
not  stand  and  command  the  boat  to  sail  up  the  river. 

Men  make  plants  grow  in  the  coldest  weather, 
and  cause  water  to  become  ice  in  summer,  but  it  is 
by  God's  laws.  When  then  the  known  laws  which 
God  has  made  in  nature  are  set  aside,  or  suspended, 
the  result  is  called  a  miracle.  As  we  have  shown, 


54  EVIDENCES   FROM   MIRACLES. 

no  matter  how  great  and  wonderful  an  event  it  is,  if 
it  be  in  accordance  with  known  laws,  we  cannot  call 
it  miraculous. 

If  a  man  pretends  to  work  a  miracle,  it  must  be 
before  men  that  they  may  see  it,  and  be  that  kind 
of  an  act  which  they  can  understand.  If  a  person 
should  stand  and  order  the  course  of  the  lightning 
before  all  who  might  assemble  to  see  him,  they 
could  judge  of  the  act ;  and  if  all  the  citizens  of 
Boston  read  the  intelligence  of  the  election,  as  we 
just  now  supposed,  in  the  next  half  hour,  they  could 
judge  of  that  fact. 

If  a  philosopher  should  stand  with  a  multitude  of 
persons  on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  at  an  ap- 
pointed hour,  and  command  the  water  to  leave 
its  channel,  and  ascend  in  a  column  two  hundred 
feet  through  the  air,  the  people  could  judge  of 
such  an  act.  They  could  as  easily  tell  that  the 
water  ascended,  as  they  can  that  it  runs  in  its  natu- 
ral channel.  Men  are  then  capable  of  judging 
when  a  miracle  is  wrought.  But  if  these  or  like 
acts  are  done,  they  must  be  by  the  power  of  Glod. 
No  created  being  can  do  any  thing  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  nature,  as  established  by  Him  who  made  all 
things. 

But  nobody  who  believes  in  a  God  doubts  that 
he  can  set  aside  his  own  laws,  or  suspend  them. 
It  is  as  easy  for  him,  and  as  much  his  right,  to  roll 
the  sun  back  in  its  apparent  course,  as  to  make  it  go 


THE  PURPOSE  OF  MIRACLES.        55 

forward — to  cause  plants  to  grow  as  well  in  winter 
as  in  summer,  or  bread  to  be  made  of  stones  as  well 
as  of  wheat.  But  will  he  ever  do  so  ?  The  witnesses 
whose  testimony  is  recorded  in  the  Bible  say  he  has 
done  so,  and  we  have  proved  that  we  have  their 
uncorrupted  testimony,  and  that  they  had  every 
motive  to  speak  the  truth.  Yet  we  are  not  called 
upon  to  believe  that  God  will  violate  his  own  laws 
without  good  reasons.  He  has  good  reasons  for 
doing  all  that  he  does  in  the  ordinary  course  of  na- 
ture, and  very  many  of  these  reasons  are  plain  to 
every  thoughtful  person.  The  reason  why,  in  a 
particular  case,  he  seems  not  to  observe  them,  may 
be  equally  plain.  Such  is  the  case  with  the  mira- 
cles of  the  Scriptures.  Men  say  they  are  taught 
certain  things  of  God — about  heaven  and  hell,  holi- 
ness and  sin,  which  are  very  important,  and  which 
men  never  did,  or  could  find  out  of  themselves. 
How  do  we  know  that  Paul,  for  instance,  is  taught 
of  God,  or  is  not  mistaken,  when  he  says  that  God 
has  told  him  to  declare  that  "  a  man  is  justified  by 
faith,  and  not  by  works  ?"  We  know  by  the  mira- 
cles he  performs,  and  which  he  performs  on  pur- 
pose to  show  that  God  is  with  him  and  teaches  him. 
God  would  not  work  through  him  in  setting  aside  or 
suspending  his  own  laws,  if  he  were  a  fanatic  or  a  liar. 
A  certain  pretended  teacher  of  the  community  called 
Mormons,  once  called  on  a  friend  of  mine.  He 
tried  to  convince  him  that  Mormonism  is  true,  and 


56  EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

that  lie  had  a  new  revelation  from  heaven.  This 
friend  heard  his  arguments  and  doctrines  very 
quietly,  and  when  the  impostor  closed,  calmly  said, 
"If  you  have  a  new  revelation,  you  can  work  a 
miracle."  "Well/'  said  the  other,  "I  can." 
"  Well,  then/'  said  my  friend,  "  here  is  an  arm 
which  has  been  withered  ever  since  I  was  a  boy. 
It  has  no  vitality.  It  is  past  all  cure.  Speak  the 
word  and  heal  this  arm,  and  I  will  believe  your 
doctrines  and  espouse  your  cause."  The  false 
teacher  hastened  away  in  confusion.  But  when 
Christ  called  upon  the  people  to  believe  that  he 
was  the  Messiah  foretold  by  the  prophets,  he  ad- 
mitted at  the  same  time  that  the  Messiah  was  to  do 
many  great  and  miraculous  works,  and  he  proved 
his  Messiahship  by  doing  them.  Thus  did  the 
apostles  and  early  Christians  who  were  commis- 
sioned to  make  known  more  fully  Christ's  doc- 
trines. We  have  now  illustrated  these  important 
facts  which  I  will  repeat  connectedly. 

1.  A  miracle    is    something   not   in    accordance 
with  the  laws  of  nature  and  consequently  can  be 
done  only  by  the  immediate  agency  of  God. 

2.  To  deserve  credit,  it  must  be  done  openly,  and 
be  such  in  its  nature  as  that  people  may  clearly 
apprehend. 

3.  It  must  be   done  to  confirm  some  doctrine 
claimed  to  be  from  God,  and  by  the  instrumentality 
of  the  person  claiming  to  teach  that  doctrine. 


WATEE   TURNED  INTO   BLOOD.  57 

SECTION  II. — The  Miracles  of  Moses. 

I  SHALL  only  notice  a  few  of  the  many  extra- 
ordinary acts  of  "  Moses,  the  man  of  God/'  The 
reader  can  turn  to  the  7th  chapter  of  Exodus  and 
the  chapters  which  follow,  and  read  the  history  of 
all  his  miracles,  to  bring  afresh  to  his  mind  their 
astonishing  character. 

The  first  to  which  I  shall  call  attention  is  "  The 
turning  of  the  waters  into  blood."  Moses  was  sent 
by  Jehovah  to  request  Pharaoh  to  let  his  people  go 
out  of  Egypt  that  they  might  worship  him.  The 
first  object  of  Moses,  in  fulfilling  his  commission, 
was  to  convince  Pharaoh  and  his  subjects,  as  well  as 
the  children  of  Israel,  that  the  Lord  only  was  God. 
The  Lord  said  when  Moses  was  about  to  work  a 
miracle,  "  In  this  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord."  Aaron,  at  the  command  of  Moses,  stretched 
forth  his  rod  and  smote  the  waters  that  were  in  the 
river,  and  "  all  the  water  that  was  in  the  river  was 
turned  into  blood.  And  all  the  Egyptians  loathed 
the  water,  and  the  fish  in  it  died." 

In  this  miracle  we  notice  the  fact,  that  it  was 
such  a  one  as  all  the  people  could  know  and  appre- 
ciate. The  Nile,  the  river  which  was  turned  into 
blood,  and  which  became  so  loathsome,  was  held  in 
great  veneration;  its  waters  were  peculiarly  ex- 
cellent, and  it  was  the  entire  dependence  of  the 
people  to  render  their  land  productive.  They 


58         EVIDENCE  FROM  MIRACLES 

could  not,  therefore,  but  know  that  this  miracle  was 
wrought. 

There  was  a  reason  for  its  being  done,  namely — 
to  convince  that  generation,  as  well  as  all  coming 
generations,  that  Israel's  God  was  the  only  God,  and 
that  he  spoke  in  his  word  by  Moses ;  and  lastly,  it 
was  done  by  the  agency  of  Moses,  who  professed  to 
teach  the  will  of  God.  That  the  water  of  a  mighty 
river  should  be  turned  into  blood  by  the  word  of 
man,  is  surely  not  in  accordance  with  any  known 
law  which  God  has  made,  but  contrary  to  the 
well-known  laws  of  water.  God  only  could  have 
done  this  act.  It  is  true,  the  magicians  attempted 
to  imitate  it  by  their  tricks,  but  that  it  was  an  un- 
successful attempt  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
they  soon  ceased  to  contend  with  Moses  and  Aaron. 

Again,  Moses  commanded  Aaron  to  lift  up  his 
rod,  and  a  darkness  so  thick  that  it  might  be  felt 
pervaded  the  land  of  Egypt.  But  there  was  at  the 
same  time  light  in  all  the  dwellings  of  the  Israel- 
ites, their  neighbours.  It  could  not  arise  from  an 
eclipse,  for  it  lasted  three  days,  whereas  an 
eclipse  which  causes  darkness  lasts  in  any  one 
place,  but  a  few  moments — and  eclipses  are  not 
partial,  making  the  dwellings  of  some  dark,  and 
leaving  others  light.  This  was  a  miracle  that  all 
could  and  must  know.  It  was  not  done  in  secret, 
or  before  a  few  credulous  persons.  The  effect  was 
general  and  awful.  No  one  could  impose  upon  a 


FIRST-BORN   OF  THE   EGYPTIANS   SLAIN.        59 

nation  with  such  an  event  as  this,  and  none  could 
write  it  as  history,  as  Moses  has  done,  unless  it 
actually  took  place. 

Another  miracle  was  the  slaying  of  the  first-born 
of  man  and  beasts  of  the  Egyptians,  while  the 
families  of  the  Israelites  escaped  unhurt.  If  it  is 
according  to  God's  law  that  many  shall  die  where 
he  sends  the  plague,  it  is  not  according  to  any  law 
that  the  first-born  only  shall  die.  Such  a  circum- 
stance besides  this  was  never  known.  Nor  is  it 
according  to  any  law,  that  those  of  our  own  people 
shall  die,  and  those  of  another,  living  among  them, 
shall  escape.  And  this,  too,  was  an  event  deeply 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  millions  of  people.  It 
has  been  kept  in  continual  remembrance  by  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Passover  among  the  Jews,  and  a  solemn 
ceremony  among  the  Egyptians,  as  already  mentioned. 

Suppose  the  cholera  should  have  killed  the 
first-born  in  every  family  in  Cincinnati  or  St. 
Louis,  would  not  that  event  have  been  known 
throughout  our  country,  and  would  not  history 
record  it  as  most  extraordinary  ?  And  if  the 
day  on  which  it  occurred  should  be  observed  as  a 
day  of  fasting  in  such  a  city  for  the  next  hundred 
years,  would  any  future  age  doubt  its  reality  ? 

Or  suppose  some  historian,  who  has  partly  com- 
pleted a  history  of  the  United  States,  should  affirm 
that  such  an  event  actually  did  take  place  in  the  year 
1820;  and  relate  all  the  circumstances,  would  any 


60  EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

one  believe  such  a  story,  or  could  sucli  a  statement 
be  handed  down  to  future  ages  uncontradicted  ? 
Every  body  would  say  the  cholera  never  was  known 
in  the  United  States  till  1832.  It  is  false. 

When  the  Israelites  had  escaped  from  their  op- 
pressors, and  had  arrived  at  the  borders  of  the 
sea,  their  enemies,  armed  and  breathing  fearful 
threatenings,  pressed  upon  their  rear,  while  the 
wilderness  and  the  sea  shut  them  in.  But  Moses 
stretched  out  his  rod,  and  the  sea  divided,  and  the 
people  passed  through  in  safety.  The  Egyptian 
army  followed,  and  when  they  had  all  entered,  the 
waters  returned  into  their  accustomed  channels, 
and  destroyed  them.  God,  in  this  case,  made  use 
of  an  east  wind  to  cause  the  sea  to  go  back.  Now 
it  is  according  to  the  laws  which  govern  wind  and 
water,  that  a  "  strong  east  wind"  should  dry  up 
water,  but  not  that  it  should  dry  up  a  sea  in  one 
night.  Nor  is  it  according  to  those  laws  that  the 
wind  should  cause  the  sea  to  "go  back,"  and  the 
water  to  stand  up  upon  each  side  as  a  wall ;  neither 
is  it  natural  for  it  thus  to  continue  until  one  people 
shall  pass  through  its  channel  "  dry-shod/'  and 
close  upon  the  army  of  another  when  they  were 
attempting  to  follow. 

Suppose  Washington  with  his  army,  being 
closely  pressed  by  a  superior  English  force,  and 
crossing  the  Delaware  river  in  the  night,  had 
lifted  his  sword,  pointing  to  the  river,  and  com- 


WASHINGTON  CROSSING  THE  DELAWARE.       61 

rnanded  its  waters  to  divide,  and  they  had  piled 
themselves  on  each  side,  like  a  wall  of  solid  stone, 
until  his  army  had  passed  through ;  and  suppose 
the  British  had  attempted  to  follow,  and  been 
drowned  in  the  midst  of  the  river;  and  let  us 
imagine  still  further  that  a  very  beautiful  song  had 
been  composed  by  some  officer  or  soldier  in  the 
American  army,  and  had  been  sung  ever  since 
throughout  the  country  in  commemoration  of  the 
event,  would  any  one  doubt  that  it  actually  happened  ? 
The  English  nation  would  know  whether  they  had 
lost  an  army,  and  their  national  pride  would  have 
led  them  to  have  contradicted  the  manner  of  its  loss, 
if  possible ;  and  the  whole  American  army  would 
know  whether  they  crossed  the  Delaware  under  the 
circumstances  supposed.  No  history  could,  at  any 
time,  impose  such  a  transaction  upon  the  world,  if 
it  had  never  happened.  Still  more  remarkable  was 
the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  by  the  Israelites,  for 
here  was  a  whole  nation.  Millions  of  people  were 
actors  in  this  scene,  and  every  one  would  be  a  wit- 
ness for  or  against  the  record  of  the  event ;  and 
still  more  impossible  would  it  have  been  for  Moses, 
or  any  person,  to  have  fabricated  the  story. 

The  last  of  the  Old  Testament  miracles  which  I 
shall  mention,  is  the  fall  of  the  manna  in  the  wil- 
derness. By  it  some  millions  of  the  children  of 
Israel  were  fed  for  forty  years.  It  fell  six  days  in 
the  week;  but  on  the  seventh  there  was  none.  If 


62  EVIDENCE  FROM   MIRACLES. 

during  five  of  the  days  of  the  week  they  gathered 
more  than  enough  for  one  day,  it  bred  worms,  and 
was  spoiled;  but  that  which  was  gathered  on  the 
sixth  day,  though  double  in  quantity,  kept  in  a 
wholesome  state  two  days;  and  the  supply  ceased 
altogether  when  the  people  arrived  in  Canaan, 
where  there  was  corn. 

Some  parts  of  Ireland,  have  been,  for  a  few 
years  past,  in  a  great  measure  destitute  of  food, 
and  many  of  them  are  known  to  have  starved.  If 
the  queen  of  England,  their  sovereign,  had  claimed 
to  have  been  raised  up  by  God  to  teach  them  their 
duty  to  him  more  fully  than  it  is  now  revealed,  and 
if  she  had  called  upon  God  to  send  them  food  from 
heaven  every  day,  in  receiving  it  directly  from  the 
sky,  as  they  now  do  the  rain,  they  would  have 
known  God  spake  by  her.  And  if  it  had  all  the 
peculiarities  of  the  manna,  that  is,  if  it  came  regu- 
larly every  day,  except  that  it  came  on  Saturday  for 
Sunday,none  being  sent  on  that  day,  and  ceased  when- 
ever they  could  obtain  other  food,  it  would  have  been 
still  more  astonishing.  Would  not  all  the  Irish  peo- 
ple have  known  this  was  a  miracle  ?  They  could  not 
be  deceived.  The  English  nation  would  know  it,  and 
the  world  would  be  filled  with  the  news  of  such  an 
event.  No  man  could  pretend  such  a  thing  was  true 
and  make  men  believe  it,  unless  it  really  was  so.  It 
could  and  would  soon  be  disproved,  if  it  was  fabri- 
cated. And  so  of  the  manna  which  came  from 


THE   ADVENT   OF   CHRIST.  63 

heaven  for  three  millions  of  starving  people.  They 
could  not  be  deceived,  and  Moses  could  not  have 
written  it  as  truth,  if  it  were  not  known  to  be  so. 

SECTION  III. — The  Miracles  of  Christ. 

No  being  ever  appeared  in  the  world,  with  so 
imposing  a  character,  or  with  so  high  pretensions,  as 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  The  heavenly 
hosts  rejoiced  at  his  birth.  A  light,  from  that  mo- 
ment, dawned  in  the  midst  of  the  deepest  darkness 
of  our  sin-smitten  world.  Those  that  waited  "  for 
the  consolation  of  Israel/'  from  the  instant  that  it 
was  said  "A  Saviour  is  given/'  exclaimed,  "Now 
lettest  thou  thy  servants  depart  in  peace ;  for  our 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 

Christ  claimed  to  bring  "  life  and  immortality  to 
light" — to  possess  in  himself  "  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead" — and  to  be  "equal  with  the  Father."  He 
proclaimed  the  natural  unfitness  of  man  to  dwell  with 
Grod;  but  offered  him  salvation  in  his  own  name,  and 
as  a  free  gift.  He  declared  this  salvation  possible, 
because  of  the  shedding  of  his  own  blood  as  a  sacri- 
fice for  sin.  He  promised  to  be  with  all  his  disci- 
ples everywhere,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world ;  and 
finally,  he  represented  himself  as  the  future  judge 
of  the  world,  and  as  having  the  right  to  admit  his 
faithful  people  to  "  sit  upon  his  throne,"  and  to 
wear  crowns  of  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 

Surely  no  teacher  ever  made  pretensions  like  these. 


64  EVIDENCE   FROM    MIRACLES. 

It  is  therefore  right  that  we  should  expect  some 
"mighty  works"  to  be  done  by  him.  In  this  we  are 
not  disappointed.  If  his  claims  are  great,  his  cha- 
racter (which  we  shall  consider  in  due  time)  and  his 
miracles  are  still  greater  and  more  astonishing. 

Since  Christ  came  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  and  it  was  proclaimed  that  peace  should  at- 
tend his  advent,  we  should  expect  all  his  miracles, 
while  they  showed  his  power,  should  show  his  good- 
ness too.  It  would  not  be  consistent  for  him  to  call 
fire  from  heaven  to  consume  his  enemies — to  devas- 
tate the  earth  with  plagues,  nor  to  show  his  divinity 
by  blotting  out  the  sun  and  stars,  and  shrouding  the 
world  in  darkness.  Nor  would  it  become  him  to 
overthrow  nations,  as  a  conqueror,  and  call  upon 
the  world  to  receive  his  claims,  because,  by  his 
power,  he  had  put  down  kings,  and  discomfited 
armies. 

His  claims  and  the  kind  of  miracles  he  wrought 
are  consistent.  If  he  wished  to  show  his  disciples  his 
power  over  the  winds  and  the  waves,  he  at  the  same 
time  removed  the  cause  of  their  alarm  and  anxiety. 
"  Why  are  ye  so  fearful  ?"  Does  he  wish  to  show 
the  multitude  that  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual 
gifts  are  at  his  disposal  ?  He  relieves  the  present  dis- 
tress of  seven  thousand,  and  gives  them  bread  to 
eat  in  a  wilderness,  till  they  are  satisfied.  When 
he  would  prove  that  death  is  subject  to  him,  he  re- 
stores to  life  a  young  man;  "the  only  son  of  his 


THEIR  BENEVOLENT  CHARACTER.      65 

mother,  and  she  a  widow."  To  exhibit  his  con- 
trol over  the  powers  of  darkness,  he  relieves  the 
excruciating  agony  of  those  who  were  possessed  of 
devils.  And  at  the  same  time  he  sought  to  connect 
with  these  blessings  to  the  bodies  and  minds  of  men, 
growing  out  of  his  miracles,  the  comforting  assu- 
rance that  the  Son  of  man  had  power  to  forgive 
sins. 

I  will  select  a  few  examples,  from  Christ's  many 
miracles,  to  illustrate  the  above  remarks. 

When  Jesus  was  at  Capernaum,*  there  came  to 
him  a  ruler  whose  name  was  Jairus.  From  his 
office,  he  was  probably  a  man  of  much  influence, 
and  therefore  the  miracles  wrought  in  his  behalf 
would  be  the  more  known,  and  become  the  subject  of 
general  conversation.  His  only  daughter  was  lying 
at  the  point  of  death.  The  anxious  parents  had  doubt- 
less watched  beside  her  during  the  long  weary 
hours  of  the  nights,  marking  the  rapid  inroads  of 
disease  upon  her  lately  vigorous  frame  and  threaten- 
ing its  speedy  dissolution.  How  could  he  bear  the 
thought  that  she  must  die — the  comfort  of  his  man- 
hood, the  pride  of  his  advancing  years,  and  the 
expected  prop  of  his  old  age  ?  No  expense  or 
pains  were  spared.  The  most  skilful  physicians 
were  called.  The  frantic  father  was  ready  to  cast 

*  Matt.  ix.  18,  and  the  parallel  places  in  Mark  and 
Luke. 

6* 


66         EVIDENCE  FROM  MIRACLES. 

all  his  worldly  substance  at  their  feet,  if  they  would 
but  save  his  daughter. 

Suddenly  a  ray  of  hope  crossed  the  father's  mind. 
He  remembered,  in  the  extremity  of  his  sorrow,  the 
"Prophet  of  Nazareth,"  whose  fame  had  filled  the 
land.  He  remembered  the  report  of  his  unexampled 
goodness;  he  had  seen  the  blind  rejoicing  in  their  re- 
stored sight;  the  lame,  whom  his  benevolence  had  fed 
while  sitting  at  his  gate  begging,  had  returned  from,  a 
visit  to  him,  walking  and  leaping  and  praising  Grod. 
The  pride  of  the  ruler  is  lost  in  the  afflicted  and  sub- 
dued parent.  He  believed  in  the  power  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  and  he  sets  off  to  urge  his  immediate  pres- 
ence. He  would  not  trust  so  important  an  errand  to 
his  servants.  He  did  not  hesitate,  when  he  arrived, 
to  pay  divine  honour  to  the  Saviour,  though  he  knew 
the  Jews  would  deride  him.  His  heart  was  deeply 
smitten  while  he  remembered  that  his  only  daughter 
(C  lay  dying/'  He  earnestly  entreated  the  Saviour 
to  come  and  heal  her. 

But  while  the  master  turned  to  perform  another 
benevolent  act,  the  messenger  came  to  announce 
that  the  child  was  really  dead  !  Why  need  the 
Saviour  be  further  troubled  ?  they  thought.  The 
work  of  death  is  done.  All  hope  has  vanished. 
But  the  Saviour  would  not  suffer  that  parent's 
heart  long  to  be  wrung  with  anguish.  Looking 
with  tenderness  upon  him,  he  said,  "  Fear  not." 
How  timely  !  How  grateful  to  his  sinking  spirit ! 


JAIRUS'S   DAUGHTER.  67 

"Believe  only,  and  she  shall  be  made  whole." 
The  parent,  accompanied  by  the  Saviour,  soon  en- 
tered his  now  desolate  house.  There  were  many 
persons  present,  but  Jesus  put  them  forth  and  went 
in,  and  took  the  maid  by  the  hand,  and  she  arose ! 

How  extensively  must  the  news  of  so  astonishing 
<^an  event  have  been  circulated  through  that  country! 
A  multitude  thronged  about  the  Saviour  as  he  went 
towards  the  ruler's  house.  They  knew  the  errand  on 
which  he  had  come.  They  heard  the  messenger  say, 
"  Thy  daughter  is  dead."  Many  of  the  people 
entered  the  house  and  satisfied  themselves  she  was 
dead,  for  when  the  Saviour  said,  "  She  is  not 
dead,"  (meaning  not  irrecoverably  dead,)  thinking  he 
meant  she  had  yet  life  remaining  in  her,  they  de- 
rided him.  It  was  such  a  case  as  they  could  un- 
derstand, and  when  they  saw  her  arise  up  and  eat 
before  them,  they  were  astonished. 

After  Jesus  had  wrought  the  miracle  of  the  rais- 
ing of  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  he  journeyed  towards 
Jericho,  the  city  made  memorable  by  the  falling  of 
its  walls  at  the  sound  of  the  ram's  horns  of  the 
children  of  Israel  under  Joshua.  A  great  multi- 
tude accompanied  him,  for  the  excitement  in  con- 
sequence of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  was  very 
great.  A.i  he  drew  near  unto  Jericho,  two  blind 
men,  who  sat  by  the  way-side  begging,  cried  out 
most  earnestly,  "  Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on 
us !"  They  had  without  doubt  heard  of  the  wonder- 


68  EVIDENCE   FROM    MIRACLES. 

ful  acts  of  this  far-famed  prophet.  They  had  long 
felt  the  deep  affliction  of  blindness ;  but  they  had 
considered  their  case  as  a  hopeless  one.  "  Who  ever 
heard  of  one  that  could  open  the  eyes  of  those  who 
are  born  blind  ?"  had  been,  perhaps,  the  language 
of  their  hearts.  They  had  heard  men  speak  of  the 
glorious  sun,  and  of  the  beauties  of  nature  ;  they 
pressed  the  hand  of  friendship,  and  had  sighed  to 
look  upon  the  countenances  of  those  they  loved. 

A  rumour  had  come  to  them  that  one  Jesus,  a  pro- 
phet, "  mighty  in  deed  and  in  word,"  had  opened,  by 
a  touch,  the  sightless  eyes  of  many  an  humble  sup- 
plicant. They  may  have  long  sighed  to  hear  the 
tones  of  his  voice  of  mercy.  But  who  cares  for  the 
unfortunate  ?  They  were  beggars.  Who  shall  carry 
them  where  the  Saviour  labours?  The  boon  is  too 
great  to  ask.  Their  tears  must  fall  in  silence. 

But  they  hear  the  voice  of  a  multitude.  They  in- 
quire the  reason  of  the  trampling  of  so  many  feet, 
"  It  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  is  the  reply.  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  I" — The  very  name  sent  a  thrill  of  joy 
through  their  hearts.  As  with  one  voice  they  cry 
out,  "  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  us  !"  There 
were  none  to  lead  them  to  Christ,  but  there  are 
many  to  repulse  their  importunate  application  to 
him.  What  to  the  thoughtless  multitude  who  follow 
Christ  through  mere  curiosity  is  the  blessing  of  sight, 
the  loss  of  which  they  never  experienced  ? 

"Be  still !"  say  the  by-standers.    "  Clamour  not  for 


THE   BLIND   SEE.  by 

him — He  will  not  notice  beggars  like  you  ?"  Alas  ! 
how  little  of  the  character  of  Christ  do  the  world 
understand !  He  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  voice 
of  earnest  supplication.  He  canie  for  the  very  pur- 
pose of  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  healing  the  broken- 
hearted, and  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  poor. 

He  commanded  them  to  be  brought  to  him.  When 
the  Master  calls,  there  are  those  who  are  ready  to 
help.  They  catch  the  infection  of  his  benign  spirit. 
"  Be  of  good  cheer;  rise,  he  calleth  thee."  "What 
wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto  thee  ?"  is  the  en- 
couraging question.  They  are  not  at  a  loss  for  an 
answer.  "  Lord,  open  our  eyes."  They  were  intent 
on  the  great  blessing  of  sight.  This  was  the  only 
opportunity  of  receiving  it  they  ever  would  have. 
They  cannot  now  be  denied. 

He  touched  their  eyes.  They  saw  instantly.  What 
a  change !  Hard  indeed  must  have  been  their  hearts 
if  they  had  felt  no  disposition  to  "  follow  him  in  the 
way,"  praising  God.  Consider  the  greatness  of  this 
act,  the  opening  the  eyes  of  men  lorn  blind! — Consider 
how  public  it  was.  They  sat  by  the  way-side  beg- 
ging. They  were  well  known  :  and  then  what  a 
number  of  witnesses ! — in  the  open  street,  amidst  a 
crowd  of  enemies  as  well  as  friends. 

We  have  often  seen,  in  one  of  our  large  cities,  a 
blind  man  sitting  at  the  corner  of  one  of  the  most 
crowded  streets.  Perhaps  he  has  a  few  apples  to 
sell.  There  he  sits,  sad,  and  almost  motionless. 


70  EVIDENCE   PROM   MIRACLES. 

The  thoughtless  pass  him,  and  notice  him  not.  The 
multitude  throng  around,  earnestly  pursuing  their 
schemes  of  gain  or  glory.  But  his  position  for 
many  years  in  that  same  place  has  caused  him  to 
be  extensively  known,  and  they  all  know  that  he  is 
blind.  If  Jesus  were  on  earth  to  day,  and  had 
made  professions  of  his  Messiahship,  and  should  visit 
that  city,  and  amidst  the  multitude  that  were  eagerly 
gazing  upon  him,  some  watching  with  malicious  in- 
tentions his  every  act,  he  should  stop,  and  while  this 
blind  man  cried  out  "  Open  my  eyes,"  he  should 
touch  them  and  restore  his  sight,  how  clear  would  be 
the  proof  of  his  divine  power !  How  would  the  fact 
become  noised  abroad,  and  how  easily  could  the  de- 
ception be  detected  if  there  had  been  any  attempt 
to  deceive ! 

Such  were  the  miracles  of  Christ.  The  examples 
we  have  selected  are  not,  perhaps,  the  most  striking. 
Where  all  are  so  clearly  performed  by  divine  power, 
so  astonishing  in  their  character,  and  so  convincing  in 
the  proof  they  afford  that  they  were  of  God,  we  had 
no  need  to  be  careful  in  our  selection.  Let  a  few  par- 
ticulars concerning  Christ's  miracles  be  remembered. 

1.  They  were  generally  performed  in  the  most  public 
manner.    The  chief  priests,  in  many  cases,  doubtless, 
and  the  bitterest  enemies  of  Christ,  witnessed  them. 

2.  They  were  very  numerous.     It  became  so  no- 
torious that  this  professed  Messiah  wrought  miracles 
that  the  people  would  naturally  be  on  the  watch  for 


FACTS   TO   BE   MENTIONED,  71 

them.  This  gave  all  skeptics  an  opportunity  to  attend 
on  his  ministry,  and  see  his  mighty  acts  for  them- 
selves. The  Jewish  Council  could  send  their  most 
sagacious  men,  and  prove  whether  or  not  he  pos- 
sessed this  power ;  a  test  which  they  allowed  would 
settle  his  claims  to  be  sent  of  God.  This  they  did, 
they  did  watch  him  closely,  and  this  leads  us  to 
notice  another  very  important  fact. 

3.  Neither  the  Jewish   rulers  nor  any  of  that 
generation  attempted  to  deny  that  Christ  raised  the 
dead,  healed  the  sick,  fed  multitudes  with  a  few 
loaves,  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  and  cast  out 
devils.     They  did  indeed  say  that  he  cast  out  devils 
by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils.     But  this  was 
only  their  very  weak  and  wicked  construction  of  a 
very  plain  matter.    Our  Lord's  answer  was  sufficient 
to  silence  them  on  this  point.     The  devil  could  not 
engage  in  a  warfare  against  himself;  he  would  not 
be  found  demolishing  his  own  work.     "If  Satan 
be  divided  against  himself,  how  can  his  kingdom 
stand  ?"     The  weakness  of  the  objection  shows  how 
impossible  it  was  to  disprove  the  divine  character  of 
his  miracles. 

4.  They  were  all  of  a  kind  suited  to  his  charac- 
ter and  the  design  of  his  holy  mission.     This  point 
we  repeat  here,  because  it  should  impress  our  minds. 
Christ's  miracles  were   like  himself  and  like  the 
gospel  he  preached, — they  exhibited  the  compas- 
sion of  God  to  fallen  man. 


72  EVIDENCE  FROM   MIRACLES. 

SECTION  IV. — The  Resurrection  of  Christ. 

The  Apostle  Paul*  says,  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen, 
then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  jour  faith  is  also 
vain."  He  laid  much  stress  on  this  great  truth,  in 
proof  of  the  divine  authority  of  his  own  preaching. 
It  is  the  most  important,  and  the  most  interesting  and 
convincing  of  all  the  miracles  of  the  Scriptures. 
We  will  examine  the  account  of  it  briefly  : 

The  Saviour,  during  his  public  preaching,  had 
said  that  he  should  be  betrayed,  tried,  condemned 
and  crucified,  but  the  third  day  he  would  rise  again. 
Thus  all  his  enemies  and  all  who  doubted  his  as- 
sertion were  put  upon  their  guard  against  deception. 
The  Jewish  rulers  who  crucified  him  remembered 
this  saying,  and  were  virtually  challenged  to  pre- 
vent or  disprove  its  final  accomplishment.  The 
fame  of  his  promised  resurrection  was  as  extensive- 
ly circulated  as  the  report  of  his  wonderful  works. 
How  intensely  interested  then  must  the  whole  city 
have  been  in  the  progress  of  his  trial ! 

As  the  news  of  his  arrest  spread,  his  enemies  doubt- 
less said,  "Now  we  shall  see  what  will  become  of  his 
promise  of  living  again  after  the  third  day."  And, 
among  the  many  who  believed  on  him,  there  were 
possibly  some  who,  unlike  the  twelve,  clung  to  his 
promise  with  a  steady  faith,  saying,  "  He  will  burst 

*  1  Cor.  xv.  14. 


CERTAINTY  OF   HIS   DEATH.  73 

the  bands  of  death.  He  will  triumph  over  the 
grave.  I  shall  see  him  in  his  glory  I" 

Under  these  circumstances,  there  could  be  no 
mistake  in  the  fact  that  he  was  really  put  to  death. 
His  enemies,  with  malignant  satisfaction,  saw  his 
body  scourged  and  lacerated.  Their  own  hands 
bound  the  thorns  about  his  brow.  They  followed 
his  weary  steps  to  Calvary,  and  hung  him  upon  the 
cross.  They  triumphed  in  their  hearts  when  they 
saw  his  agony,  and  cried,  "He  saved  others;  him- 
self he  cannot  save/'  They  gazed  at  him,  until  they 
knew  that  he  was  really  dead,  for  they  would  first 
of  all  be  sure  that  his  predicted  resurrection  should 
not  be  a  mere  resuscitation ;  and  in  addition  to  the 
crucifixion,  a  soldier  pierced  his  side  with  his  spear, 
making  death  certain  beyond  all  doubt.  But  their 
care  stopped  not  here.  They  laid  him  carefully  in 
the  tomb.  It  was  his  own  body;  there  could  be 
no  mistake  about  this.  They  closed  the  door  and 
rolled  against  it  a  heavy  stone,  and  placed  a  seal 
upon  it.  If  the  disciples  had  broken  that  seal,  the 
people  would  have  known  it.  But  to  make  it  still 
more  sure,  a  guard  of  Roman  soldiers  was  set  to 
watch  the  tomb.  Their  life  depended  upon  their 
vigilance.  While  the  enemies  of  Jesus  thus  thought 
to  defeat  the  Saviour's  design,  they  were  preparing 
the  strongest  proof  of  the  event  which  he  had  pre- 
dicted. 

It  being  certain  that  the  Saviour  was  dead,  they 


74  EVIDENCE   FROM    MIRACLES. 

waited  the  return  of  the  third  day.  The  tomb  was 
visited,  but  the  body  was  not  there !  Could  the 
disciples  have  stolen  him  away  ?  So  say  the  chief 
priests,  and  thereby  they  acknowledge  that  the  body 
is  really  gone.  Was  the  seal  broken  ?  No.  Did 
all  the  soldiers  sleep  under  such  circumstances? 
Impossible.  They  were  told  to  say  that  the  disciples 
came  by  night  and  stole  the  body  away  while  they 
slept.  But  how  did  they  know  what  happened  when 
they  were  asleep  ? 

The  disciples  were  timid,  and  had  little  ap- 
prehension of  Christ's  true  character.  They  had 
no  clear  understanding  of  his  resurrection.  But 
some  of  them,  with  the  women,  coming  to  the 
tomb  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  found  not 
the  body,  but  were  astonished  at  seeing  Christ  him- 
self. Again  and  again  he  appears  to  them  for  the 
space  of  forty  days,  going  in  and  out  with  them,  and 
conversing  about  the  things  of  his  kingdom.  They 
ate  with  Mm.  They  handled  his  body.  More 
than  five  hundred  saw  him  at  one  time.  This  is 
the  disciples'  story.  This  account  they  published  at 
the  very  time  of  the  transaction,  when  his  ene- 
mies, the  unbelieving  Jews,  had  the  fairest  oppor- 
tunity to  disprove  it.  They  published  the  facts  at 
Jerusalem,  yes,  in  the  temple,  in  the  very  ears  of 
those  who  crucified  him — who  watched  him  at  his 
death,  and  who  saw  his  body  laid  safely  away  in  the 
tomb.  They  could  rise  up,  if  it  were  possible,  and 


PUBLICITY   OF  THE  TESTIMONY.  75 

say,  "  We  know  your  story  of  his  resurrection  is 
not  true ;  we  have  seen  his  body  since — his  dead 
body — since  the  third  day/'  Or,  upon  the  first  an- 
nouncement of  this,  to  them,  unpleasant  truth,  they 
could,  (if  the  disciples  testified  falsely,)  hasten  at 
once  to  the  sepulchre,  and  produce  the  body. 

But  no.  They  adopted  no  such  course.  To  oppose 
to  the  disciples'  statement,  they  have  only  the  testi- 
mony of  those  who  allowed  that  they  were  asleep  at 
the  time.  But  even  this  defence  is  soon  aban- 
doned, it  being  too  weak  to  be  insisted  upon,  and  the 
publishers  of  Christ's  resurrection  have  the  field  to 
themselves.  From  the  Roman  governor,  and  the 
Jewish  high  priests,  down  to  the  lowest  reviler  of 
the  name  of  Christ,  not  one  dared  to  say,  "  Your  story 
of  the  resurrection  is  false." 

The  disciples  were  arrested,  scourged,  and  charged 
to  say  no  more  about  the  unwelcome  truth.  Not  be- 
cause they  published  a  lie  and  deceived  the  people, 
but  because  the  rulers  were  afraid  it  would  stir  up  the 
jealousy  of  the  Romans,  or  excite  the  rage  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  might  charge  them  with  the  blood  of  that 
just  person.  From  the  crowded  temple  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  thronged  city  of  Jerusalem,  to  the  extreme 
boundaries  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  "  Jesus  and  the 
resurrection"  was  proclaimed.  Nor  did  the  disci- 
ples tarry  long  among  those  who  accounted  them- 
selves unworthy  of  eternal  life;  but  among  the 
philosophers  of  Greece,  the  orators  of  Rome,  tho 


76  EVIDENCE   FROM   MIRACLES. 

great  and  the  lowly,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  bond 
and  the  free,  of  every  city  and  country,  the  same 
doctrines  were  announced.  They  endured  all  man- 
ner of  reproach  in  attesting  this  fact.  They  were 
derided,  imprisoned,  and  many  of  them  were  put 
to  death,  yet  they  persevered  to  the  last  in  their 
testimony. 

Let  the  reader  recollect  that  they  declared  not  a 
religious  opinion,  such  as  might  or  might  not  be 
true,  but  a,  fact  which  they  asserted  they  had  seen 
with  their  own  eyes. 

On  this  point,  an  excellent  writer  says,  "It  is 
common  for  men  to  die  for  false  opinions.  But 
even  in  those  cases  their  sufferings  are  an  evidence 
of  their  sincerity;  and  it  would  be  very  hard  to 
charge  men  who  die  for  the  doctrine  they  profess, 
with  insincerity  in  their  profession.  Mistaken  they 
may  be,  but  every  mistaken  man  is  not  a  cheat. 
If  we  allow  the  sufferings  of  the  apostles  to  prove 
their  sincerity,  which  we  cannot  well  disallow ;  and 
consider  that  they  died  for  the  truth  of  a  matter  of 
fact,  which  they  had  seen  themselves ;  we  shall  per- 
ceive how  strong  the  evidence  is  in  the  case.  In 
doctrines  and  matters  of  opinion,  men  mistake  per- 
petually ;  and  it  is  no  reason  why  I  should  take  up 
with  another  man's  opinion,  that  I  am  persuaded  he 
is  sincere  in  it.  But  when  a  man  reports  to  me  an 
uncommon  fact,  yet  such  a  one  as,  in  its  own  nature, 
is  plainly  an  object  of  sense,  if  I  believe  him  not, 


CLOVEN   TONGUES.  77 

it  is  not  because  I  suspect  his  eyes,  or  his  sense  of 
feeling,  but  merely  because  I  suspect  his  sincerity. 
For  if  I  were  to  see  the  same  thing  myself,  I  should 
believe  myself;  and  therefore  my  suspicion  does  not 
arise  from  the  inability  of  the  human  senses  to  judge 
in  the  case,  but  from  a  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  the 
reporter.  In  such  cases,  therefore,  there  wants  no- 
thing to  be  proved  but  the  sincerity  of  the  reporter ; 
and  since  voluntary  suffering  for  the  truth  is,  at 
least,  a  proof  of  sincerity,  the  suffering  of  the  apos- 
tles for  the  truth  of  the  resurrection  is  a  full  and 
unexceptionable  proof/' 

SECTION  V. — Miracles  of  the  early  Christians. 

I  SHALL  but  allude  to  the  miracles  wrought  by 
those  who  claimed  to  be  commissioned  by  God  to 
carry  out  the  great  work  of  men's  salvation,  by 
publishing  in  all  the  world  the  glad  news  of  the 
gospel.  Some  of  these  Christians  wrote  a  part  of 
the  Bible.  We  receive  their  words  as  from  Grod. 
If,  then,  they  really  did  such  works  as  no  man  could 
do,  we  have  the  proof  that  they  were  inspired,  and, 
as  they  were  the  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ,  it  serves  as  an  additional  evidence  that 
that  great  miracle  was  wrought. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  2d  chapter  of  the  Acts.  It 
was  the  day  of  Pentecost  at  Jerusalem.  "There 
were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  Jews,  devout  men,  out 


78  EVIDENCE   FROM    MIRACLES. 

of  every  nation  under  heaven/'  Their  minds  had 
been  filled  with  the  fame  of  Jesus.  They  had  been 
informed  of  his  death,  and  had  heard  the  report  also 
that  he  was  risen  again.  No  doubt  they  were  skep- 
tical, if  not  full  of  animosity  against  the  professed 
Messiah.  Now  it  was  noised  abroad  that  the  disci- 
ples of  this  Jesus  were  filled  with  divine  power. 
Public  curiosity  was  immediately  excited.  People 
ran  together  to  the  place  where  the  disciples  were 
assembled,  and  were  amazed  to  hear  them — unlearned 
men  as  they  were— speak  each  in  his  own  language ; 
as  if  a  convention  of  Frenchmen,  Austrians,  Ita- 
lians, Spaniards,  Japanese,  and  Sandwich  Islanders, 
should  be  assembled  in  New  York  to  attend  the 
May  meetings,  and  half  a  dozen  unlettered  American 
fishermen  should  come  in  and  address  them  m  the 
language  of  their  respective  countries.  Here  was  a 
fact  of  which  all  could  judge.  It  occurred  at  Jeru- 
salem, at  the  time  when  that  city  was  filled  with 
people.  It  was  therefore  known  to  thousands.  It 
was  wrought  by  those  who  now  began  to  preach  the 
gospel. 

Of  the  same  character — clearly  miraculous  and  ex- 
tensively known — were  all  the  miracles  of  the  early 
Christians.  They  spake,  therefore,  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  have  thus  briefly  laid  before  the  reader  the  sub- 
ject of  the  miracles  of  the  Bible.  How  astonishing 
their  nature  !  How  great  their  variety.  How  be- 


CONCLUSION  OF  SUBJECT  OF  MIRACLES.   79 

nevolent  their  character,  and  at  the  same  time  how 
convincing  is  their  testimony  !  The  finger  of  God 
is  clearly  seen  in  them  all.  The  voice  of  Jehovah 
is  heard  through  them  calling  upon  men  to  listen. 
The  will  of  God  is  plainly  made  known  in  connec- 
tion with  them,  so  that  they,  to  whom  the  Bible 
comes,  may  take  it  as  a  light  to  guide  them  safely 
to  heaven. 


80        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 


TO  WEE  IV. 

EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

SECTION  I. —  What  is  Prophecy? 

NOT  a  great  many  years  since,  the  rich  and 
fashionable  people  of  Boston  erected  a  beautiful 
building  in  one  of  the  most  frequented  streets, 
and  dedicated  it  to  theatrical  performances.  Thi- 
ther they  hoped  the  young  and  the  gay,  the  rich  and 
the  influential,  would  resort,  and  sustain  the  reputa- 
tion of  such  amusements.  While  pleasure-seekers 
rejoiced  in  the  enterprise,  the  pious  mourned.  They 
saw  in  it  the  means  of  the  ruin  of  many  promising 
youth.  A  clergyman  was  at  that  time  officiating  as 
pastor  of  a  church  in  that  city.  With  regard  to 
this  theatre  he  remarked,  (and  the  observation  be- 
came generally  known,)  "  I  shall  yet  preach  the  gos- 
pel in  that  building." 

Years  rolled  on.  The  pastor  removed  to  a  West- 
ern city,  and  the  theatre  continued  to  be  crowded 
with  its  votaries.  But  the  gospel  was  at  the  same 


AN  ANECDOTE.  81 

time  exerting  its  silent  and  powerful  influence  upon 
the  community.  The  interest  in  theatrical  amuse- 
ments began,  at  length,  to  wane,  and  the  temples 
of  God  were  filled  with  attentive  worshippers.  The 
gain  of  those  who  owned  the  theatre  was  gone,  and 
it  was  sold  to  a  society  of  Christians,  to  be  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  Almighty  God.  The  pastor 
was  visiting  his  old  friends  in  Boston,  at  the  time 
the  purchase  was  completed,  and  he  preached  the 
first  sermon  within  its  capacious  walls.  I  was  fa- 
voured with  the  privilege  of  hearing  that  sermon. 
The  venerable  man  of  God  stood  upon  the  stage, 
where  the  actors  had  been  accustomed  to  perform 
for  the  amusement  of  a  thoughtless  multitude,  with 
many  of  the  decorations  of  the  theatre  remaining  in 
the  building,  and  proclaimed  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  Before  him  sat  an  aged  and  distinguished 
friend  in  the  ministry,  around  him  were  the  pastors 
of  perhaps  fifty  churches,  and,  crammed  into  every 
part  of  the  house,  was  a  listening  audience. 

In  commencing  his  discourse,  the  pastor  pleasant- 
ly remarked,  alluding  to  the  prediction  above  men- 
tioned, "  I  was  not  quite  so  sure  it  would  take  place, 
as  I  am  now/' 

My  readers  will  not  understand  me  to  present  this 
incident  as  an  example  of  a  prophecy  like  those  the 
prophets  of  the  Bible  uttered.  I  have  introduced  it 
to  point  out  the  difference  between  such  a  prediction 
and  a  Scripture  prophecy. 


82        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

The  pastor  formed  an  opinion  concerning  the  the- 
atre from  the  probable  course  of  events.  He  did  not 
'know  that  it  would  take  place. 

But  suppose  he  had  said,  that  in  1843,  on  the 
5th  day  of  September,  a  Society  of  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination would  purchase  the  house;  that  upon  the 
very  stage  on  which  plays  had  been  performed  for 
twenty-five  years,  with  all  the  theatrical  decorations 
about  him,  he  should  preach  to  a  crowded  house  on 
a  certain  day ;  that  an  aged  minister,  whose  name  he 
gave,  should  sit  before  him  with  a  hearing  trumpet 
at  his  ear,  while  many  clergymen,  as  yet  but  mere 
boys,  all  of  whom  he  named,  describing  their  charac- 
ters and  person,  should  stand  around  him ;  and  if  all 
these  particulars  happened  with  the  exception,  per- 
haps, of  the  precise  date,  exactly  as  he  had  stated 
them  twenty-five  years  before,  we  should  exclaim, 
"  Glod  must  have  directly  communicated  these  facts 
to  him.  It  is  a  prophecy." 

Here  would  be  a  great  many  little  particulars 
which  no  one  could  know  would  happen  at  the  very 
time,  and  under  the  very  circumstances  in  which  they 
did  happen,  and  yet  all  were  minutely  predicted. 

Suppose  one  of  the  pilgrim  fathers  of  New  Eng- 
land, on  landing  upon  the  rock  of  Plymouth, 
amidst  the  snows  of  an  unusually  severe  winter, 
surrounded  by  an  unexplored  and  boundless  forest, 
through  which  the  red  man  yet  roved  with  unre- 
strained freedom,  had  made  the  following  statement: 


A   SUPPOSED   CASE.  83 

From  the  ocean  upon  the  east  to  the  ocean 
upon  the  west,  and  from  the  wonderful  lakes  and 
the  unequalled  cataract  of  the  north  to  the  salt 
water  that  washes  the  southern  shore,  the  white 
men  shall  be  in  numbers  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest. 
While  yet  they  are  but  three  millions,  war  shall 
arise,  and  they  shall  fight  against  their  rulers. 
There  shall  be  a  great  and  a  good  man  raised  up, 
whose  name  will  be  called  Washington,  and  he 
shall  lead  their  armies  to  victory,  after  enduring 
incredible  hardships,  and  surmounting  innumerable 
difficulties.  Seven  years  shall  the  war  rage,  and 
then  shall  the  people  be  free.  Thirteen  distinct 
governments  shall  be  formed,  and  they  shall  be 
called  state  governments ;  and  a  general  govern- 
ment shall  be  established,  and  the  people  shall 
choose  their  own  rulers  and  make  their  own  laws 
according  to  a  determined  constitution,  and  Washing- 
ton shall  be  elected  the  first  president.  He  shall  rule 
with  great  wisdom  and  popularity,  and  then  shall  he 
retire,  and  a  man  named  Adams  shall  succeed  him 
in  office.  The  people  shall  increase  greatly  in 
numbers  and  power,  and  there  shall  be  great  con- 
vulsions in  the  old  world,  and  war  shall  occur  be- 
tween this  country  and  Great  Britain,  which  shall 
last  three  years.  And  while  men  shall  be  yet 
living  who  conversed  with  Washington,  the  num- 
ber of  the  states  shall  increase  to  thirty,  and  the 
people  shall  be  more  than  twenty  millions, 


84  EVIDENCE   FROM  PROPHECY. 

Now  will  the  reader  notice  several  particulars  of 
this  supposed  case  ?  The  boundaries  of  the  country 
are  given,  and  the  incidental  particulars  of  "  won- 
derful lakes,"  and  a  unequalled  cataract,"  not  yet 
known  to  him  who  spoke  these  words.  The  dura- 
tion of  the  war  is  given,  and  the  name  of  the 
deliverer  and  first  president.  Thirteen  states  are 
mentioned,  and  not  a  greater  or  less  number.  The 
nature  of  the  new  government,  that  it  shall  be  a  re- 
public and  not  a  monarchy,  is  stated.  And  lastly, 
the  precise  number  of  the  states  within  a  given 
generation,  and  the  popular  estimate  of  the  number 
of  the  people,  are  distinctly  announced.  Let  us  sup- 
pose further,  that  this  statement  was  published 
among  the  writings  of  this  man  who  professed  to 
teach  many  truths  concerning  religion  not  yet 
fully  understood,  and  who  claimed  that  he  received 
them  directly  from  God;  and  that  these  writings 
were  known  by  all  the  Puritans  of  that  generation, 
and  a  great  many  books  were  written,  referring  to 
this  statement — some  of  them  referring  to  it  as  the 
fancy  of  a  madman. 

Now,  no  one  doubts  that  God  only  could  enable 
a  man  to  reveal  such  facts,  and  the  people  of  these 
United  States  would  receive  more  and  more  evi- 
dence of  their  truth  up  to  this  time.  And  when 
the  people  saw  that  they  were  true,  they  could 
not  reasonably  doubt  that  he  who  uttered  them 


CHRIST   EXPECTED.  85 

was  a  good  man,  and  that  the  doctrines  he  taught 
were  from  God. 

If  I  now  present  statements  from  the  Bible  em- 
bracing more  wonderful  particulars,  and  a  greater 
number  than  those  contained  in  the  above  supposed 
case,  every  candid  reader  will  allow  that  God  must 
have  revealed  them,  and  that  the  men  by  whom  they 
were  uttered,  were  good  men,  and  what  they  taught 
must  be  true. 

SECTION  II. — Prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah. 

WHEN  Christ  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judah, 
the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews  expected  a  person  to 
appear  among  them — to  become  greater  than  any 
of  their  former  kings  or  prophets,  and  to  be  to 
them  a  mighty  ruler  and  saviour.  When,  therefore, 
the  wise  men  from  the  east  announced  that  they 
had  seen  the  star  of  him  who  was  to  be  king  of  the 
Jews,  Herod,  the  ruler  under  the  Romans,  was 
troubled,  lest  this  expected  king  should  excite  the 
Jews,  whom  he  governed,  to  rebel.  All  Jerusalem 
was  in  a  state  of  excitement. 

Why  was  this  general  expectation  ?  Why  had 
they  expected  such  a  man  then,  rather  than  a  gene- 
ration sooner  or  later  ? 

It  was  because  Christ,  the  Messiah,  had  been 
foretold.  More  than  one  hundred  predictions  had 
been  written  in  their  religious  books,  referring  to 
different  circumstances  concerning  him.  They  were 


86         EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

written  at  different  periods,  but  all  of  them  more 
than  four  hundred  years  before  that  time.  All  the 
books  containing  these  predictions  had  been  trans- 
lated nearly  three  hundred  years  before,  from  He- 
brew, the  Jews'  language,  into  Greek;  and  had 
been,  of  course,  known  and  talked  about,  by  the 
friends  and  enemies  of  the  Jews'  religion.  I  will 
present  a  few  only  of  these  prophecies — and  in  such 
order  that  they  may  be  read  in  connection. 

"  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people 
and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  the  transgression 
and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  make  reconcili- 
ation for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting 
righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the  vision  and  pro- 
phecy, and  to  anoint  the  most  holy.  Know,  there- 
fore, and  understand,  that  frorn^  the  going  forth  of 
the  commandment  to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem 
unto  the  Messiah,  the  Prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks, 
and  three-score  and  two  weeks."* 

The  reader  has  only  to  bear  in  mind  that  each 
day  stands  for  a  year  in  this  prophecy,  and  that 
seventy  weeks  are  four  hundred  and  ninety  proph- 
etic days  or  years — and  that  "  the  going  forth  of 
the  commandment  to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem/' 
refers  to  the  decree  of  Artaxerxes,  contained  in  Ezra 
7th  chap.  9th  verse. 

"  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  b« 
little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of 

*  Dan.  ix.  24. 


PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  THE  MESSIAH.        87 

thee  shall  lie  come  forth  unto  me,  that  is  to  be  ruler 
in  Israel/'* 

"  There  shall  come  forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesse  (or  the  son  of  Jesse,  that  is  David),  and  a 
branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots ;  and  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and 
might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge,  and  the  fear  of  the 
Lord."f 

"Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened, 
and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped;  then 
shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue 
of  the  dumb  sing."  J 

"He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we  hid,  as 
it  were,  our  faces  from  him ;  he  was  despised  and 
we  esteemed  him  not. 

"  He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted ;  yet  he 
opened  not  his  mouth ;  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to 
the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is 
dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth."  || 

In  the  above  prophecies,  there  are  the  following 
particulars  stated  concerning  the  Messiah  : 

1.  The  exact  time  of  his  birth — four  hundred 
and  ninety  years  from  the  decree  of  Artaxerxes. 

2.  The  place  where  he  was  born — in  Bethlehem 
Ephratah. 

*  Micah  v.  2.   f  Isaiah  xi.  1.    J  Isaiah  xxxv.  5.   ||  Isaiah  liii.  3. 


88  EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

3.  The  tribe  from  which  he  should  spring — from 
Judah. 

4.  The  family — from  the  stem  of  Jesse — David's 
father — that  is  from  the  family  of  David. 

5.  His  character — "  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  un- 
derstanding rested  upon  him/'  etc. 

6.  The   miracles   that  he  should  perform — the 
lame  walk,  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dumb  speak. 

7.  The  contempt  of  those  to  whom  he  preached. 
"He  was  despised  and  rejected." 

8.  A  very  particular  account  of  his  death.     "  He 
was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter/'  etc. 

Now,  since  we  know  that  Christ  was  born  just  at 
the  time  stated,  in  the  very  place,  and  of  the  tribe 
and  family  mentioned,  and  that  his  character  and 
the  miracles  he  wrought,  and  the  death  he  suffered, 
are  all  as  they  were  foretold,  we  certainly  know 
that  God  inspired  the  men  who  declared  these 
things.  And  we  know  too  they  must  be  good  men, 
and  what  they  taught  must  be  true. 

SECTION  III. — Prophecy  concerning  Babylon. 

SOME  of  my  readers  may  have  ascended  to  the 
top  of  the  Bunker  hill  monument,  and  from  that 
elevation  marked  the  outlines  of  the  city  of  Boston, 
with  all  its  adjacent  country.  Towards  the  south  is 
its  beautiful  harbor  spotted  with  sails,  and  upon 
every  other  side  are  towns  of  romantic  beauty, 
while  the  eye  passes  rapidly  over  the  principal 


BABYLON.  oy 

points  of  interest  in  the  city  itself.  Will  the  reader 
now  ascend  with  me,  in  imagination,  a  tower  six  hun- 
dred feet  high,  that  is,  about  three  times  as  high  as 
the  Bunker  hill  monument  ?  Though  this  tower 
has  crumbled  into  dust,  we  will  suppose  it  yet 
stands,  where  it  once  stood,  in  Asia,  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  Euphrates,  or  not  far  from  where,  on  the 
map,  you  see  the  waters  of  the  Tigris,  quite  near 
those  of  the  Euphrates.  What  a  splendid  view ! 
We  are  in  the  centre  of  the  great  city  of  Babylon  ! 
We  can  distinctly  see  that  wall,  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high,  and  twelve  miles  long  on  each  side, 
extending  entirely  around  the  city.  It  looks,  in  the 
distance,  like  the  dark  outline  of  a  regular  ridge  of 
hills,  shutting  in  the  city  from  the  surrounding 
plains.  See  those  towers  upon  each  corner,  piercing 
the  very  clouds !  And  what  beautiful  and  massive 
gates  open  through  the  walls,  twenty-five  on  each 
side,  and  all  of  solid  brass !  The  streets  too,  how 
unlike  those  of  Boston  or  New  York  !  They  are  so 
wide  and  straight,  running  from  each  gate  to  the  one 
opposite,  making  fifty  streets,  dividing  the  city  into 
such  beautiful  squares.  The  houses  are  not  crowded 
together  as  they  are  in  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia,  but  each  square  has  richly  cultivated 
gardens. 

We  may  now  follow  the  course  of  the  Euphrates 
through  the  very  centre  of  the  city,  with  those 
high  walls  upon  its  banks,  and  we  can  see  twenty- 


90         EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

five  brazen  gates  upon  each  side,  leading  from  the 
river  into  the  streets.  We  can  scarcely  discern,  at 
the  foot  of  the  tower,  those  men,  appearing  no 
bigger  than  ants,  ascending  from  the  boats,  through 
the  gates,  into  the  city.  No  doubt  all  these  gates, 
around  the  city  and  along  the  banks  of  the  river, 
are  shut  at  night,  so  that  no  enemy,  either  from  the 
plains  or  from  boats,  can  enter.  How  secure  they 
must  feel ! 

But  what  a  splendid  bridge  spanning  the  Eu- 
phrates directly  below  ! 

Near  us,  on  this  side  of  the  river,  are  large, 
elegant,  though  old  looking  buildings,  enclosed  by 
three  separate  walls,  one  within  the  other;  these 
buildings,  says  our  guide,  form  the  old  palace,  now 
forsaken  by  the  royal  family  for  that  more  ex- 
pensive and  noble  one  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  The  new  palace,  he  tells  us,  is  enclosed  by  a 
wall  eight  miles  in  circumference.  But  the  most 
remarkable  thing  about  the  new  palace,  is  that 
garden,  which  seems  to  be  suspended  between 
heaven  and  earth,  which  has  been  raised  upon 
terraces  to  the  height  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  and  planted  with  every  thing  beautiful.  I 
think  its  erection  must  have  been  a  shameful 
waste  of  time  and  labour,  and  well-fitted  to  swell 
the  pride  of  the  queen  for  whom  it  was  made. 

Let  us  now  listen  to  a  description  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  with  which  we  are  supplied,  and 


THE   GREAT   LAKE.  91 

learn  what  lies  beyond  the  walls.  First,  there  is  an 
immense  ditch  filled  with  water.  This  was  made 
by  removing  the  earth  of  which  the  bricks  were 
made  that  are  used  for  the  walls.  It  must  add 
greatly  to  the  difficulty  of  taking  the  city,  for  the 
people  of  Babylon  and  their  enemies  know  nothing 
of  bombs,  mortars  and  cannon,  which  hurl  destruc- 
tion across  ditches  and  over  the  highest  forts. 
West  of  the  city  we  shall  find  an  extensive  basin 
forty  miles  in  circumference  and  thirty-five  feet 
deep,  into  which  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  were 
turned  from  above  the  city,  in  order  to  build  the 
wall  along  its  banks  more  conveniently.  There 
are  also  two  canals,  through  which,  when  they  fear  an 
inundation,  they  turn  the  superfluous  waters  into 
the  Tigris. 

Such  is  this  mighty  city,  Babylon,  which,  com- 
prehending, as  we  have  stated,  a  square  forty-eight 
miles  around,  was  at  least  eight  times  larger  than 
London  and  its  appendages.  These  particulars  we 
have  in  the  history  written  by  Herodotus,  who 
visited  the  city  of  Babylon.  No  wonder  at  her 
great  boasting.  She  says,  "I  will  be  a  lady  for 
ever."  "  I  am,  and  none  else  besides  me.  I  shall 
not  sit  as  a  widow,  neither  shall  I  know  the  loss 
of  children."* 

Will  this  glory  ever  depart  ?     Will  these  mighty 

*  Isa.  xlvii.  7.  8. 


92        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

walls  be  prostrated,  these  splendid  palaces  become 
the  habitation  of  loathsome  reptiles,  and  these  beau- 
tiful gardens  the  haunts  of  wild  beasts  ?  Will  this 
vast  area,  teeming  with  busy  inhabitants,  become  so 
desolate,  that  even  the  wild  and  fearless  Arab,  who 
loves  to  pitch  his  tent  in  desert  places,  will  not  even 
tarry  here  for  a  night  ?  And  will  these  plains,  whose 
soil  is  so  deep  and  rich,  and  whose  produce  is  so 
abundant,  cease  to  be  feeding-places  for  the  flocks 
of  the  shepherd  ?  We  will  stand  amidst  its  great- 
est wealth  and  grandeur,  while  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
revelling  in  his  gorgeous  palace,  and  her  merchants 
are  receiving  the  wealth  of  the  world  into  their 
coffers,  more  than  one  hundred  years  before  the 
commencement  of  her  downfall,  and  hear  what  the 
voice  of  the  prophets  of  Grod  say  concerning  her. 

tf  Her  foundations  are  fallen,  her  walls  are  thrown 
down/'  "The  very  wall  of  Babylon  shall  fall." 
"  The  broad  wall  of  Babylon  shall  be  utterly  bro- 
ken." "  Though  Babylon  should  mount  up  to 
heaven,  and  though  she  should  fortify  the  height  of 
her  strength,  yet  from  me  shall  spoilers  come  unto 
her,  saith  the  Lord."* 

Still  further,  if  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  45th 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  to  the  51st  of  Jeremiah,  he 
will  find  several  particulars  of  its  fall  there  stated. 

The  name  of   the  general  who  should  conquer 

*  Jer.  1.  15— li.  44,  58,  63. 


CYRUS   THE   PERSIAN   GENERAL.  93 

Babylon  is  given  more  than  a  hundred  years  before 
he  was  born.  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  anointed, 
to  Cyrus/'  The  manner  in  which  he  should  enter 
the  city  is  also  stated.  "  I  will  open  before  him 
the  two  leaved  gates ;  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut." 
Cyrus,  the  Persian  general,  surrounded  the  city 
with  an  immense  army  five  hundred  and  forty  years 
*  before  Christ,  and  besieged  it  two  years,  hoping  to 
force  its  inhabitants  to  surrender  from  starvation. 
But  the  Babylonians  had  provision  enough  for 
twenty  years,  so  they  laughed  at  him  from  the 
top  of  their  high  walls.  But  during  a  great  feast 
in  the  city,  while  the  king  and  all  the  people 
were  thinking  only  of  making  themselves  merry, 
Cyrus  caused  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  to  be 
turned  into  the  great  basin  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
which  was  forty  miles  square,  and  then  marched 
his  army,  in  two  divisions,  from  above  and  below, 
in  the  dry  bed  of  the  river.  The  citizens  were  so 
given  up  to  pleasure,  that  they  forgot  to  shut  the 
gates,  which  led  from  the  river  into  the  city. 
Through  these  "  two  leaved  gates"  the  army  entered, 
and  its  separate  divisions  met  at  the  new  palace, 
slew  Belshazzar  the  king,  and  took  the  whole  city 
in  a  few  hours. 

A  great  many  particulars  will  be  found  in  the 
chapters  referred  to,  concerning  the  taking  of  Baby- 
lon, which  we  have  not  room  to  present.  From 


94        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

the  time  Cyrus  took  it,  it  ceased  to  be  the  metropo- 
lis of  a  kingdom,  and  declined  rapidly. 

We  will  now  consider,  briefly,  Isaiah' s  descrip- 
tion of  its  present  state  :* 

e<  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be 
dwelt  in  from  generation  to  generation,  neither  shall 
the  Arabian  pitch  his  tent  there,  neither  shall  the 
shepherds  make  their  fold  there;  but  wild  beasts 
of  the  desert  shall  lie  there,  and  their  houses  shall 
be  full  of  doleful  creatures,  and  owls  shall  dwell 
there,  satyrs  shall  dance  there,  and  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  islands  shall  cry  in  their  desolate  houses,  and 
dragons  in  their  pleasant  palaces,"  &c. 

1.  Who  could  have  told  that  so  great  a  city,  in  a 
beautiful  place,  with  so  fruitful  a  soil,  would  never 
be  inhabited  ?     Surely  none  but  G-od.     The  exact 
place  of  its  location  has  hitherto  been  unknown, 
and   the  whole  region  is  uninhabited,  and   many 
a  traveller  has  sought  in  vain  for  some  certain  trace 
of  those  mighty  walls. 

2.  It  need  not  necessarily  be  inhabited  by  fero- 
cious beasts,  for  a  few  poor  people  may  live  among 
its  ruins,  and  keep  under  the  brutal  creation.     But 
God  said  it  would  be  so,  arid  it  is  so. 

3.  But  the  Arabians  are  not  afraid  of  the  wild 
beasts,  and  they  love  to  rove  through  the  deserts 
and  pitch  their  tents  in  the  most  desolate  places. 

*  Isa.  xiii. 


THE   SPECIFICATIONS   NOTICED.  95 

But  underneath  the  rubbish  of  these  immense 
ruins,  are  deadly  scorpions,  serpents,  and  reptiles, 
so  that  none  can  sleep  beneath  a  tent  there  in 
safety. 

4.  But  time  will  crumble  into  dust  this  rubbish, 
and  destroy  these  hiding  places.    Will  not  the  rich 
soil  again  bring  forth  abundant  pasturage,  and  the 
shepherd  make  his  fold  there  ?    No — so  the  prophet 
declares,  and  so  it  has  been, 

5.  But  it  is  said  that  it  shall  become  pools  of 
water.     Travellers  say  that  within  comparatively  a 
a  few  years,  the  Euphrates,   becoming  singularly 
obstructed,  two-thirds  of  the  site  of  Babylon  is  now 
"  pools  of  water  for  the  bittern/'  (a  water  fowl,)  "  to 
cry  in." 

Thus  hath  "the  golden  city  ceased/'  and  the 
desolation  of  her  once  crowded  streets,  and  the 
dust  of  her  splendid  palaces,  been  made  the  evi- 
dence both  of  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  pride 
and  oppression  of  kings,  and  the  truth  of  Jehovah 
speaking  through  the  Bible. 

SECTION  IV. — Prophecies  concerning  the  Seven  Churches 
of  Asia. — "  The  Revelation  of  John." 

IF  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  second  and  third 
chapters  of  the  Revelation  of  John,  he  will  find  dis- 
tinct prophecies  uttered  concerning  each  of  the 
seven  churches  there  named,  which  were  situated  in 
Asia  Minor.  The  reader  will  be  able  to  turn  to 


96  EVIDENCE   FROM   PROPHECY. 

some  Bible  Atlas  and  find  the  relative  position  of 
this  country  and  these  churches. 

We  will  point  out  the  prophecies,  and  their  ful- 
filment, which  respect  four  of  them — because  the 
nature  of  the  declarations  concerning  these  will  be 
more  easily  understood — namely,  Ephesus,  Phila- 
delphia, Laodicea,  and  Smyrna. 

To  the  church  at  Ephesus,  John  was  ordered  to 
write  :  "  Remember,  therefore,  from  whence  thou 
art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works;  or 
else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  remove 
thy  candlestick  out  of  its  place,  except  thou  repent." 
By  "  candlestick,"  in  this  prophetic  language,  is 
meant  church.  The  Ephesians  are  therefore  threat- 
ened with  the  removal  of  their  church  "out  of  its 
place"  except  they  should  repent.  For  many  cen- 
turies after  this  declaration  was  published  to  the 
world,  Ephesus  remained  a  flourishing  city,  so  that 
its  church,  favoured  with  the  labours  of  the  apostles 
and  early  Christians,  might  hear  and  consider  the 
warning,  and  the  world  know  that  the  denunciations 
were  not  written  after  its  decline.  "  But  now  a 
few  heaps  of  stones  and  some  miserable  mud  cok 
tages,  occasionally  tenanted  by  Turks,  without  one 
Christian  residing  there,  are  all  that  remains  of 
ancient  Ephesus."  It  is,  as  described  by  different 
travellers,  a  desolate,  forlorn  spot.  The  epistle  to 
the  Ephesians  is  read  throughout  the  world;  but 
there  is  none  in  Ephesus  to  read  it  now.  They  left 


CHURCH   OP  PHILADELPHIA.  97 

their  first  love,  they  returned  not  to  their  first  works. 
Their  "candlestick  has  been  removed  out  of  its 
place/ '  and  not  only  the  Christian  church,  but  the 
great  city  of  Ephesus  is  no  more.  A  modern  trav- 
eller says,  "  Its  streets  are  obscured  and  overgrown. 
A  herd  of  goats  were  driven  to  it  for  shelter  from 
the  sun  at  noon ;  and  a  noisy  flight  of  crows  from 
the  quarries  seemed  to  insult  its  silence.  We  heard 
the  partridge  call  in  the  area  of  the  theatre  and 
stadium.  The  glorious  pomp  of  its  heathen  wor- 
ship is  no  longer  remembered;  and  Christianity, 
which  was  here  nursed  by  apostles  and  fostered  by 
general  councils,  until  it  increased  to  fulness  of 
stature,  barely  lingers  in  an  existence  hardly 
visible." 

Concerning  the  church  in  Philadelphia,  Jesus 
says,  as  recorded  by  his  servant  John,  "  I  know  thy 
works  :  behold  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door, 
and  no  man  can  shut  it;  for  thou  hast  a  little 
strength  and  hast  kept  my  words  and  hast  not  de- 
nied my  name.  Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word 
of  my  patience,  I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the 
hour  of  temptation  which  shall  come  upon  all  the 
world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth." 

An  American  traveller,  who  has  recently  visited 
these  cities,  writes  concerning  Philadelphia : 

"The  promise  of  Divine  interposition  in  the 
hour  of  temptation,  is  the  distinguishing  feature  in 
this  letter  of  Jesus  to  the  Philadelphians ;  and  won- 


98        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

derfully  has  it  been  fulfilled  for  the  last  eighteen  hun- 
dred years.  The  candlestick  (the  church)  has  never 
been  removed;  the  angel  (the  minister)  of  the 
church  has  always  been  there.  The  altar  of  Jesus 
has  been  often  shaken,  both  by  the  imperial  pagan 
power,  when  Philadelphia  supplied  eleven  martyrs 
as  companions  to  Polycarp  in  the  flames  at  Smyrna, 
and  by  the  arms  of  the  false  prophet,  when  Bajazet 
and  Tamerlane  swept  over  Asia  Minor  like  an  inun- 
dation; yet  it  has  never  been  overthrown.  The 
crumbling  walls  of  twenty  ruined  churches,  and 
the  swelling  domes  and  towering  minarets  of  a  dozen 
mosques  attest  the  hours  of  fiery  temptation ;  yet 
three  thousand  Christian  Greeks,  and  a  half  a  dozen 
churches,  still  kept  in  repair  and  still  vocal  with 
praise  to  Jesus,  attest  that  he  has  been  faithful  to 
his  promise,  ( I  also  will  keep  thee  in  the  hour  of 
temptation  which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world,  to 
try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth/  " 

To  the  Laodicean  church  the  Saviour  wrote, 
"  Because  thou  art  lukewarm  and  neither  cold  nor 
hot,  I  will  spue  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  The  writer 
just  quoted,  says  of  the  city  of  Laodicea,  "  It  was 
situated  on  several  hills  of  volcanic  origin,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  is  described  by  travellers  as  covered 
from  its  summit  to  its  base  with  ruined  arches,  bro- 
ken pillars,  and  remnants  of  magnificent  buildings. 
The  only  living  creatures  that  occupy  this  melan- 
choly spot  are  wolves,  jackals  and  foxes.  Beneath 


CHURCH   OP  LAODICEA.  99 

the  hills  and  the  plains  are  the  smouldering  remains 
of  the  ancient  volcanoes  that  so  often  desolated  the 
district  and  destroyed  the  city,  and  which  yet  render 
the  air  lukewarm.  To  a  country  like  this,  how 
awfully  appropriate  is  the  message  of  Jesus,  to  the 
church  at  Laodicea.  '  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou 
art  neither  cold  nor  hot.  So,  then,  because  thou 
art  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spue  thee  out  of  my 
mouth/  " 

From  the  eleventh  century,  when  the  Turk  set 
his  iron  foot  upon  it,  it  became  a  scene  of  war. 
Finally  the  withering  dominion  of  the  Mohamme- 
dan settled  upon  the  city,  and,  lo !  she  has  disap- 
peared, and  with  her  the  church  which  Paul  planted, 
and  for  which  he  repeatedly  expressed  deep  concern. 
All  that  is  known  of  her  subsequent  history  attests 
that  she  heeded  not  the  "  counsel"  of  the  Saviour, 
who  said  to  her,  "Buy  of  me  gold,  that  thou  mayest 
be  rich,  and  white  raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be 
clothed,  and  that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not 
appear;  and  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eye-salve,  that 
thou  mayest  see.  Be  zealous,  therefore,  and  repent." 
And  because  they  heeded  not,  the  doom  of  excom- 
munication was  pronounced  by  the  Saviour;  their 
separation  from  the  pale  of  the  church,  as  something 
nauseous  and  loathsome,  was  threatened;  and  after 
a  lengthened  course  of  vicissitudes  and  humiliation, 
they  have  been  blotted  from  the  map  of  nations  and 
the  family  of  God.  The  winds  sighing  over  the  hill 


100        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

of  Laodicea,  with  the  melancholy  cry  of  the  jackal, 
are  the  only  sounds  which  break  in  upon  the  soli- 
tude." 

To  the  church  in  Smyrna  it  was  written,  "Be- 
hold, the  Devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison, 
that  ye  may  be  tried,  and  ye  shall  have  tribulation 
ten  days :  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life."  In  this  book,  we  find  a 
day  in  the  prophetic  manner,  standing  for  a  year,  as 
in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  The  church  in  Smyrna 
were  to  have  tribulation  ten  years.  History  in- 
forms us  that  this  church,  with  the  other  Asiatic 
churches,  suffered  persecution  under  Diocletian, 
precisely  that  length  of  time. 

Let  us  look  attentively  at  these  prophecies. 
Of  one  church  it  is  said,  its  minister  shall  be  re- 
moved out  of  his  place — of  another,  that  it  should 
be  preserved  amidst  a  furnace  of  trial — of  a  third, 
that  it  should  be  utterly  extinguished — and  of 
a  fourth,  that  it  should  suffer  ten  years'  affliction. 
Here  is  a  different  and  specific  declaration  for  each 
church. 

More  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  there 
lived  in  Boston,  a  well-known  divine  by  the  name 
of  Mather.  He  wrote  a  great  number  of  books  and 
was  esteemed  a  good  and  wise  man.  Now  suppose 
this  minister  had  left  among  his  writings  several 
letters  which  he  had  written,  one  to  the  citizens  of 
New  York,  one  to  the  people  of  Baltimore,  another 


AN   OBJECTION   ANSWERED.  101 

to  the  people  of  Albany,  and  still  another  to  the 
people  of  Philadelphia,  and  that  these  letters  had 
been  received  and  read  in  those  cities,  with  great 
interest,  coming  from  so  distinguished  a  man  as 
Increase  Mather,  at  one  time  president  of  Harvard 
University.  In  the  letter  to  New  York,  we  will 
suppose  he  wrote  as  follows; — A  devastating  plague 
called  the  cholera,  shall  come  upon  you,  and  your 
streets  shall  be  deserted,  and  your  business  shall 
cease."  To  the  Baltimoreans,  "Your  town  shall  be 
attacked  by  a  victorious  army,  and  they  shall  fight 
against  it,  but  they  shall  not  conquer ;  God  shall 
preserve  you."  To  the  Philadelphians,  "  War  shall 
rise  up  in  your  midst,  and  you  shall  slay  one 
another,  and  you  shall  be  consumed  by  your  civil 
commotions."  And  in  the  letter  to  Albany,  "Your 
beautiful  town  shall  increase  and  become  great,  but 
fire  shall  consume  it,  and  your  splendid  temples 
shall  become  ashes,  and  the  wind  shall  blow  them 
away."  These  letters  being  found,  ever  since  his 
day,  in  the  libraries  of  these  several  cities,  and 
making  a  part  of  their  history,  and  being  published 
also  at  the  time  among  the  works  of  Mather,  and 
read  throughout  this  country,  as  well  as  in  Eng- 
land, there  would  be  no  doubt  about  the  time  when 
they  were  written.  Now  if  we  should  open  the 
history  of  each  of  these  cities  and  read  that  New 
York  alone,  of  all  of  them,  had  been  desolated  by 
the  cholera ;  that  Baltimore  alone  had  been  attacked 

9* 


102        EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY. 

by  a  foreign  foe,  and  successfully  defended;  that 
Albany  had  been  consumed  by  fire,  and  Philadel- 
phia destroyed  by  civil  war,  (the  events  all  having 
happened  more  than  one  hundred  years  after 
Mather's  letters  were  known  and  read,)  would  it 
not  establish  the  fact  that  he  was  divinely  inspired  ? 
And  if  any  should  say  "  Oh,  he  only  happened  to 
guess  right/'  we  should  answer,  "It  is  very  singu- 
lar that  he  should  have  guessed  that  it  was  Albany 
and  not  New  York  which  should  be  consumed  by 
fire — that  it  was  New  York  and  not  Baltimore  or 
Philadelphia,  which  should  be  visited  by  the 
cholera ;  very  singular  that  just  the  right  event  was 
guessed  and  applied  to  just  the  right  city.  It  re- 
quires more  faith  to  believe  in  this  wonderful 
guessing,  than  to  believe  Mather,  if  he  should  say, 
'  Thus  saith  God  concerning  these  cities/  "  We 
may  suppose  such  cases,  but  the  truth  is,  no  such 
predictions  ever  have  been  made,  much  less  ful- 
filled— except  those  recorded  in  the  Scriptures, 
which  profess  to  have  been  written  under  the  inspi- 
ration of  God. 

Of  this  character  are  the  letters  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  churches  in  the  book  of  "  The  Revelation." 
Their  fulfilment  is  recorded  by  Yolney,  a  great  op- 
poser  of  religion,  and  it  is  very  strange  that  this  in- 
fidel and  scoffer  should,  in  his  description  of  the 
condition  of  Philadelphia,  use  the  very  expression 
which  had  been  used  in  the  Bible.  He  never  de- 


OTHER   PROPHECIES. 


103 


signed  saying  any  thing  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the 
Scriptures.  He  says  some  of  the  churches,  as  well  as 
the  world  at  large,  continued  to  read  these  letters 
nine  hundred  years  before  their  entire  accomplish- 
ment. 

In  this  chapter  on  "Prophecy,"  I  have  only 
touched  upon  the  interesting  subject.  I  have  said 
nothing  about  the  Saviour's  predictions  concerning 
Jerusalem — nor  the  Old  Testament  prophecies  con- 
cerning the  Jews  and  the  Holy  Land,  as  well  as 
those  which  refer  to  other  nations  and  remarkable 
cities,  all  of  which  have  been  most  wonderfully  and 
exactly  fulfilled.  Surely  "Prophecy  came  not  in 
old  time  by  the  will  of  man ;  but  holy  men  of  God 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
2  Pet.  i.21. 


104       EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE  ITSELF. 


TOWEB  Y. 

EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

SECTION  I. — The  remarkable  Character  of  the  Doctrines 
it  teaches. 

WE  know  God  must  be  a  great  and  holy  being 
The  Bible  professes  to  be  a  revelation  from  him. 
We  may  expect,  therefore,  that  the  doctrines  it 
teaches  will  be  like  him — that  they  will  be  con- 
sistent with  his  holy  attributes.  We  may  expect 
also,  that  the  doctrines  will  be  such  as  are  not 
clearly  revealed  in  nature,  nor  easily  determined  by 
reason.  Before  Christ  came,  and  consequently  be- 
fore God's  will  was  fully  made  known  to  man,  great 
and  powerful  nations  had  flourished  on  the  earth. 
The  Egyptians,  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans,  were 
remarkable  for  their  wisdom  and  learning.  But 
they  never  arrived  at  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
true  God,  nor  did  their  philosophers,  with  all  their 
study  and  great  talents,  possess  any  just  notions 
either  of  a  Supreme  Being,  or  of  man's  duty  to  him 
if  he  exists,  nor  any  clear  ideas  of  man's  duty  to 


MAN'S  ORIGINAL   STATE.  105 

his  fellow-man,  the  character  of  a  future  state,  nor 
even  any  satisfactory  notion  of  immortality.  "  Man 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God."  He  was  like  a  ship  in 
the  middle  of  the  ocean  without  rudder  or  compass. 
He  was  driven  by  every  wind  of  passion,  ready 
to  be  cast  upon  some  fatal  rock,  or  swallowed  up  in 
the  deep.  From  such  a  state  of  confusion  and  ig- 
norance we  turn  to  the  Scriptures,  and  all  is  order 
and  beauty.  It  is  a  compass  to  guide  man  over 
life's  boisterous  sea  to  a  haven  of  rest.  It  brings 
to  his  view,  at  once,  God,  his  present  duty,  and  his 
future  destiny. 

We  will  take  a  brief  survey  of  these  doctrines. 

It  sets  forth  man's  original  state — the  manner  in 
which  he  came  from  the  hands  of  Jehovah.  (f  God 
made  man  in  his  own  image."  How  consistent 
with  the  character  of  a  holy  God  !  How  like  him ! 
Himself  holy,  he  creates  his  creatures  holy,  and 
places  them  in  a  world,  which  he  has  fitted  up  for 
their  residence,  and  which  he  pronounces  "  good." 
The  moral,  intelligent  being  suited  to  the  Creator, 
and  the  creation  suited  to  that  intelligent  being. 

But  man  being  free  to  obey  or  disobey  God's 
command,  sinned,  and  thereby  forfeited  his  favour 
and  became  subject  to  his  curse.  In  his  affections 
he  became  estranged  from  God.  His  heart  was 
now  "  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately 
wicked." 

But  a  merciful  God  did  not  leave  him  in  this  lost 


106        EVIDENCE   FROM  THE  BIBLE   ITSELF. 

condition,  in  which  he  could  not  have  glorified  him 
here,  nor  have  lived  with  him  in  the  world  to  come. 
He  had  thoughts  of  mercy  concerning  him  and 
provided  the  means  of  his  recovery.  In  one  of  the 
first  chapters  of  the  Bible  the  coining  of  Christ  is 
foretold.  The  history  of  those  families  from  which 
he  was  to  spring,  is  preserved.  The  history  of  that 
nation  alone  is  given,  to  which  these  families  be- 
longed. A  system  of  sacrifices  was  established  in 
which  the  great  idea  of  an  atonement  was  taught 
and  kept  constantly  before  the  world.  While  the 
blood  of  lambs  and  of  calves  flowed  from  the  Jewish 
altars,  they  were  impressed  with  the  new  and  as- 
tonishing truth  that  mere  penitence  could  not  secure 
pardon,  but  that  Grod  had  prepared  a  sacrifice. 
When  the  prophets  came  they  spoke  of  Christ — of 
his  birth,  the  manner  of  his  life,  his  miracles,  his 
death  and  future  kingdom.  The  fundamental  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement,  then,  is  everywhere  taught 
in  the  Bible.  In  connection  with  the  fall  of  man 
it  is  a  consoling,  a  sublime  doctrine,  worthy  of  its 
author;  a  doctrine  man's  wisdom  could  never  de- 
vise. In  connection  with  the  atonement  is  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ's  nature.  He  is  represented  as  truly 
man,  "born  of  a  woman — made  under  the  law." 
As  such,  he  is  "  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  in- 
firmities," and  "  is  tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are." 
He  is  also  represented  as  God.  This  is  indeed  the 
great  mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the 


REPENTANCE   AND   FAITH.  107 

flesh.  But  it  bears  the  impress  of  Him  who  is  in- 
finite, whom  finite  creatures  may  not  pretend  to 
fathom  in  the  depth  of  his  designs,  or  in  the  mystery 
of  his  nature. 

With  the  character  and  atonement  of  Christ,  the 
Scriptures  connect  the  doctrine  of  the  dispensation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  it  is  who  helps  man's  in- 
firmities, enlightens  his  dark  understanding,  purifies 
his  heart  and  fits  him  for  heaven. 

The  doctrines  of  repentance,  obedience  and  faith 
are  also  taught, — simple  and  sublime  truths  exhi- 
biting the  goodness  of  God.  Here  the  way-faring 
man,  though  a  fool  in  worldly  wisdom,  need  not 
err;  and  he  that  runneth  may  read.  The  degraded 
heathen,  as  the  first  flashes  of  truth  from  the  gospel 
gleam  amidst  their  moral  darkness,  apprehend  and 
exult  in  the  simplicity  and  power  of  these  doctrines ; 
and  the  most  profound  scholar  in  Christendom, 
when  awakened  to  a  true  sense  of  his  condition  as  a 
sinner  and  led  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  receives 
these  doctrines  as  a  little  child,  and  acknowledges 
that  they  are  precisely  adapted  to  his  case.  When 
the  chastening  hand  of  God  bows  the  strong  man 
down  with  wasting  disease,  he  confesses  his  help- 
lessness, and  yields  to  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  on  the  verge  of  the  tomb,  with  a  body 
ready  to  resolve  itself  into  dust,  hopes  for  salvation 
only  through  "  faith  in  Christ/' 

But  the  Bible  does  not  leave  man  at  his  descent 


108       EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

into  the  tomb.  Here  heathen  philosophy  dropped 
a  tear  and  turned  away  in  confusion.  It  reasoned 
and  paused  in  the  midst  of  its  speculations,  unsatis- 
fied. But  the  gospel  brings  "life  and  immortality  to 
light."  It  perfects  what  the  preceding  revelation 
darkly  intimates.  The  doctrine  of  a  resurrection  from 
the  dead  infuses  new  life  into  the  whole  being  of 
man.  Though  a  man  dies,  he  shall  live  again.  This 
state,  in  which  he  struggles  for  a  few  clays  and 
then  disappears,  is  but  the  beginning  of  his  ex- 
istence. 

"  The  dead  which  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  man  and  come  forth."  "  In 
a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  sound 
of  the  last  trump,  the  dead  shall  rise."  Surely  this 
is  a  doctrine  worthy  of  God. 

The  doctrines  of  a  general  judgment  and  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments  are  also  taught  in 
the  Bible.  Until  their  revelation,  all  seemed  confu- 
sion in  the  government  of  God.  The  wicked  were 
seen  to  flourish,  and  the  righteous  to  sit  in  deep 
affliction.  Virtue  was  apparently  passed  by  unre- 
warded, and  wrong  went  unpunished.  But  when  a 
judgment  to  come  was  revealed,  the  righteous  were 
taught  to  refer  to  it  their  cause,  and  the  wicked, 
while  prospering  in  his  wickedness,  to  tremble  m 
view  of  its  certain  retribution.  The  righteous  were 
encouraged  by  the  promise  of  "  crowns  of  glory," 
and  the  wicked  restrained  by  a  a  fearful  looking  for 


PURITY   OF   ITS   MORALITY.  109 

of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation  that  shall  devour 
the  adversaries." 

Such  are  some  of  the  doctrines  of  revelation.  How 
sublime  !  How  closely  each  is  connected  with  the 
others,  making  a  complete  whole  !  How  perfectly 
they  account  for  our  being  here,  for  the  moral  con- 
dition of  man !  How  admirably  suited  are  they  to 
his  present  happiness,  and  how  well  adapted  to 
prepare  him  for  his  eternal  existence !  Man,  by 
wisdom,  could  never  have  known  them.  Human 
authority  never  could  have  been  sufficient  to  give 
them  power  to  command  the  belief  of  man  in  all 
age  and  conditions.  While  contemplating  them,  we 
are  led  to  exclaim,  with  reverence  and  gratitude, 
"Grod  has  indeed  spoken  to  man  in  the  Scriptures 
of  Truth." 

SECTION  II. — The  Purity  of  its  Morality. 

LET  us  turn  over  the  sacred  pages  of  the  Bible, 
and  we  shall  find  vice  in  all  its  degrees  and  forms 
condemned,  and  virtue  of  every  shade  and  class  ap- 
proved and  encouraged.  The  best  and  most  enlight- 
ened of  heathen  nations  failed  greatly  in  attempting 
to  set  up  a  perfect  standard  of  morals.  The  utter 
failure  of  their  efforts  is  abundantly  proved  in  their 
exhibitions  of  the  character  of  their  deities.  Even 
Jove,  the  Supreme,  to  whom  they  assigned  the  care 
of  the  universe,  was  subject  to  the  worst  of  passions. 
All  the  inferior  gods  were  guilty  of  the  most  de* 
10 


110       EVIDENCE   FROM   THE  BIBLE  ITSELF. 

graded  crimes.  Surely  the  stream  could  not  rise 
higher  than  the  fountain.  The  nations  could  not 
be  more  virtuous  than  the  being  by  whom  they  sup- 
posed themselves*  governed.  Even  Lord  Boling- 
broke,  a  man  of  giant  intellect,  of  great  political 
influence,  but  an  avowed  infidel,  declares,  "  That  no 
religion  ever  appeared  in  the  world  whose  natural 
tendency  was  so  much  directed  to  the  peace  and  hap- 
piness o£  mankind  as  the  Christian.  The  gospel  of 
Christ  is  one  continued  lesson  of  the  strictest 
morality,  of  justice  and  of  universal  charity.  Sup- 
posing Christianity  to  be  a  human  invention,  it  is 
the  most  amiable  and  successful  invention  that  ever 
was  imposed  on  mankind  for  .their  good." 

Not  only  does  the  Bible  declare  what  man  ought 
to  do,  but  it  furnishes  sufficient  motives  and  reasons 
for  doing  it.  When  Mr.  Moffat,  the  celebrated 
missionary  to  Africa,  first  tried  to  teach  the  natives 
that  it  was  wrong  to  steal  each  other's  cattle,  they 
laughed  at  him  for  what  they  thought  was  his  sim- 
plicity. They  could  not  see  why  it  was  wrong,  noi 
by  what  authority  they  ought  to  feel  obliged  to  re- 
spect the  rights  of  property.  But  when  they  were 
made  acquainted  with  God,  and  learned  that  he  had 
forbidden  it,  and  that  the  honest  were  rewarded  and 
the  wicked  punished,  they  were  afraid  and  said, 
"  We  cannot  do  as  we  used  to  do,  because  the  mis* 
sionaries  have  come  with  the  G-od  palaver,  (the  word 
of  God;)  and  say  we  must  not  steal."  Thus  all 


THE   SKEPTICAL   LAWYER.  Ill 

men's  acts  are  referred  to  what  God  commands,  and 
what  he  rewards  or  punishes. 

Men  of  skeptical  minds,  who  have  taken  up  the 
Bible  to  examine  its  character,  have  been  constrained 
to  acknowledge  its  perfect  moral  standard.  We 
are  told  that  in  a  city  in  one  of  the  Northern  States, 
lived  a  lawyer  of  eminence  and  talents.  He  was 
notoriously  profane.  He  had  a  coloured  boy  at  whom 
his  neighbours  used  to  hear  him  swear  with  awful 
violence.  One  day  this  gentleman  met  a  professor 
of  religion,  who  was  also  a  lawyer,  and  said  to  him, 
"I  wish,  sir,  to  examine  into  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion.  What  books  would  you  advise 
me  to  read  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity  ?" 

The  Christian,  surprised  at  the  inquiry,  replied : 
"That  is  a  question,  sir,  which  you  ought  to  have 
settled  long  ago.  You  ought  not  to  have  put 
off  a  subject  so  important  to  this  late  period  of 
life." 

"  Is  it  too  late  ?"  said  the  inquirer.  "  I  never 
knew  much  about  it,  but  I  always  supposed  that 
Christianity  was  rejected  by  the  great  majority  of 
learned  men.  I  intend,  however,  now  to  examine 
the  subject  thoroughly  myself.  I  have  upon  me,  as 
my  physicians  say,  a  mortal  disease,  under  which  I 
may  live  a  year  and  a  half  or  two  years,  but  not 
probably  longer.  What  books,  sir,  would  you  ad- 
vise me  to  read  ?" 

"The  Bible/'  said  his  friend. 


112        EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

"I  believe  you  don't  understand  me/'  resumed 
the  unbeliever,  surprised  in  his  turn  :  "  I  wish  to 
investigate  the  truth  of  the  Bible/' 

"  I  would  advise  you,  sir/'  repeated  the  Christian, 
"to  read  the  Bible.  And/'  he  continued,  "I  will 
give  you  my  reasons.  Most  infidels  are  very  igno- 
rant of  the  Scriptures.  Now  to  reason  on  any  sub- 
ject correctly,  we  must  understand  what  it  is  which 
we  reason  about.  In  the  next  place,  I  consider  the 
internal  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures 
stronger  than  the  external." 

"  And  where  shall  I  begin  ?"  inquired  the  unbe- 
liever. "  With  the  New  Testament  ?" 

"No,"  replied  the  elder,  "at  the  beginning — at 
Genesis." 

The  infidel  bought  a  Bible,  went  home,  and  sat 
down  to  the  serious  study  of  its  contents,  to  try  rigid- 
ly but  impartially  its  truth. 

As  he  went  on  in  its  perusal,  he  received  occa- 
sional calls  from  his  Christian  friend.  The  infidel 
freely  remarked  upon  what  he  had  read,  and  stated 
his  objections.  He  liked  this  passage — he  thought 
such  a  text  touching  and  beautiful,  but  he  could  not 
credit  a  third. 

One  evening  the  friend  called,  and  found  the  un- 
believer at  his  house,  walking  the  room  with  a  de- 
jected look,  his  mind  apparently  absorbed  in  thought, 
not  noticing  that  any  one  had  come  in.  He  con- 
tinued to  walk  the  room.  His  friend  at  length  spoke : 


HIS   SURPRISE  AT   THE   MORAL  LAW.        113 

"You  seem,  sir,  to  be  in  a  brown  study.  Of 
what  are  you  thinking  ?" 

"  I  have  been  reading/'  replied  the  infidel,  "  the 
moral  law." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it  ?"  asked  the  elder. 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  I  used  to  think,"  answered 
the  infidel.  "  I  supposed  that  Moses  was  the  leader 
of  a  horde  of  banditti ;  that,  having  a  strong  mind, 
he  acquired  a  great  influence  over  a  superstitious 
people ;  and  that,  on  Mount  Sinai,  he  played  off 
some  sort  of  fire  works  to  the  amazement  of  his 
ignorant  followers,  who  imagined,  in  their  mingled 
fear  and  superstition,  that  the  exhibition  was  su- 
pernatural." 

"  But  what  do  you  think  now  ?"  interposed  his 
friend. 

"I  have  been  looking,"  said  the  infidel,  "into 
the  nature  of  that  law.  I  have  been  trying  to 
see  whether  I  can  add  any  thing  to  it,  or  take 
any  thing  from  it,  so  as  to  make  it  better.  Sir, 
I  cannot.  It  is  perfect — a  perfect  law.  The  first 
commandment,"  continued  he,  (( directs  us  to  make 
the  Creator  the  object  of  our  supreme  love  and  rev- 
erence. That  is  right.  If  he  be  our  Creator,  Pre- 
server and  Supreme  Benefactor,  we  ought  to  treat 
him,  and  none  other,  as  such.  The  second  forbids 
idolatry.  That  certainly  is  right.  The  third  forbids 
profaneness.  The  fourth  fixes  a  time  for  religious 
worship.  If  there  be  a  God,  he  ought  surely  to  be 
10* 


114       EVIDENCE  FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

worshipped.  It  is  suitable  that  there  should  be  an 
outward  homage  significant  of  our  inward  regard. 
If  Grod  be  worshipped,  it  is  proper  that  some  time 
should  be  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  when  all  may 
worship  him  harmoniously  and  without  interruption. 
One  day  in  seven  is  certainly  not  too  much,  and  I 
do  not  know  that  it  is  too  little.  The  fifth  defines 
the  peculiar  duties  arising  from  the  family  relations. 
Injuries  to  our  neighbours  are  then  classified  by  the 
moral  law.  They  are  divided  into  offences  against 
life,  chastity,  property  and  character.  And,"  said 
he,  (applying  a  legal  idea  with  legal  acuteness,)  (C  I 
notice  that  the  greatest  offence  in  each  class  is  ex- 
pressly forbidden.  Thus  the  greatest  injury  to  life 
is  murder ;  to  chastity,  adultery ;  to  property, 
theft;  to  character,  perjury;  and  the  greater  of- 
fence must  include  the  less  of  the  same  kind.  Mur- 
der must  include  every  injury  to  life;  adultery 
every  injury  to  purity;  and  so  of  the  rest.  And 
the  moral  code  is  closed  and  perfected  by  a  com- 
mand forbidding  every  improper  desire  in  regard 
to  our  neighbours.  I  have  been  thinking/'  he 
proceeded,  "  where  Moses  could  have  found  that 
law  ?  I  have  read  history.  The  Egyptians  and  the 
adjacent  nations  were  idolaters;  so  were  the  Greeks 
and  Romans;  and  the  wisest  and  best  Greeks  or 
Romans  never  gave  a  code  of  morals  like  this. 
Where  then  did  Moses  get  this  law?  I  again  ask 
myself, — a  law  which  surpasses  the  wisdom  and  phi'. 


WHERE   DID   MOSES   GET   THIS   LAW?       115 

losophy  of  the  most  enlightened  ages  ?  He  lived 
at  a  period  comparatively  barbarous,  but  he  has 
given  a  code  of  laws  in  which  the  learning  and  sa- 
gacity of  all  subsequent  time  can  detect  no  flaw. 
Where  did  he  get  it?  He  could  not  have  soared 
so  far  above  his  age  as  to  have  devised  it  himself. 
I  am  satisfied  where  he  obtained  it.  It  came  down 
from  heaven.  I  am  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the 
religion  of  the  Bible/' 

The  infidel — infidel  no  longer — remained  to  his 
death  a  firm  believer  in  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

The  Saviour,  in  the  New  Testament,  has  expand- 
ed the  excellent  moral  precepts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  has  shown  more  fully  how  the  moral 
character  can  be  sustained,  namely,  by  the  princi- 
ple of  love  in  the  heart ;  love  to  God  and  man, — 
which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  The  moral  power 
of  the  Bible  is  now  such,  that  those  who  do  not  re- 
ceive its  regenerating  influence  upon  their  hearts 
are  constrained  to  acknowledge  that  society  is  better 
where  it  is  received  and  reverenced.  The  world  ex- 
pects believers  in  the  Bible  to  be  under  the  health- 
iest moral  restraint,  and  thus  they  pay  a  silent 
homage  to  its  worth,  more  forcible  than  the  most 
laboured  defence. 

SECTION  III. — Simplicity  and  Sublimity  of  its  Style. 

FISHER  AMES,  a  distinguished  American  statesman 
and  orator,  who  died  in  1808,  was  ardently  attached 


116       EVIDENCE  FROM   THE   BIBLE  ITSELF. 

to  the  Bible.  He  lamented  its  prevailing  disuse  in 
schools,  and  thought  that  children  should  be  well 
acquainted  with  it,  both  on  account  of  the  all-import- 
ant truths  it  contains,  and  because  they  would  thus 
learn  the  English  language  in  its  purity.  He  was 
accustomed  to  say,  "  I  will  hazard  the  assertion  that 
no  man  ever  did,  or  ever  will  become  truly  eloquent, 
without  being  a  constant  reader  of  the  Bible,  and  an 
admirer  of  the  purity  and  sublimity  of  its  language/' 

Sir  William  Jones,  whose  interesting  writings  on 
oriental  subjects  elucidated  many  obscure  points  in 
Scripture  history,  was  a  general  scholar,  and  embel- 
lished and  adorned  every  subject  which  passed 
under  his  elegant  pen.  On  the  blank  leaf  of  his 
Bible,  the  following  finely  conceived  description  was 
found  written  : — "  I  have  regularly  and  attentively 
perused  these  Holy  Scriptures,  and  am  of  opinion 
that  this  volume,  independently  of  its  divine  origin, 
contains  more  true  sublimity,  more  exquisite  beauty, 
more  pure  morality,  more  important  history,  and 
finer  strains  of  poetry  and  eloquence,  than  can  be 
collected  from  all  other  books,  in  whatever  age  or 
language  they  may  have  been  written/' 

This  is  high  praise  truly.  Let  the  reader  call  to 
mind  some  portions  of  the  Bible,  which  will  show 
the  simplicity  of  its  style.  Turn  to  the  history  of  the 
creation.  How  plain  !  No  effort  seems  to  be  made 
by  the  inspired  penman.  We  see  the  order  in 
which  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth — then 


EXAMPLES   OF   ITS   SIMPLICITY.  117 

comes  the  brief  but  impressive  account  of  man's 
creation,  his  fall,  the  peopling  of  the  earth,  the  in- 
crease of  wickedness,  and  the  appalling  scene  of  a 
world  overflowed  with  water.  What  child  has  not 
read  the  story  of  Joseph  again  and  again  !  The 
mistaken  partiality  of  his  father,  and  the  jealousy 
of  his  brethren.  How  artlessly  he  tells  his  dreams  ! 
How  we  tremble  for  him  when  he  goes  to  Dothan 
to  seek  his  brethren  !  How  cruel  it  was  to  separate 
him  from  his  indulgent  parent  and  send  him  into 
slavery  !  With  what  interest  we  follow  him  through 
his  vicissitudes  until  he  becomes  ruler  of  Egypt, 
and  exercises  the  authority  of  a  king  !  And  then, 
the  touching  speech  of  Judah,  how  it  melts  the 
heart !  To  complete  the  absorbing  interest  of  the 
whole,  the  meeting  of  Joseph  and  his  father  is  pre- 
sented in  so  beautiful  a  manner  that  we  seem  to  see 
the  old  man  weeping  upon  the  neck  of  his  long  lost 
and  recovered  son,  and  to  hear  his  trembling  ac- 
cents, as  he  whispers,  "  Now  let  me  die,  since  I  have 
seen  thy  face,  because  thou  art  yet  alive/'' 

The  history  of  Samuel,  of  the  unfortunate  and 
erring  Saul,  of  the  valiant  and  eloquent  David,  and 
of  the  rich  and  prosperous  Solomon,  are  all  nar- 
rated with  such  artless  simplicity  that  a  child  reads 
them  over  and  over  again  without  weariness,  while 
the  most  wise  and  learned  are  equally  delighted  and 
instructed.  Through  the  whole  book  of  Kings, 
and  in  the  sublime  writings  of  the  prophets,  the 


118        EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE  ITSELF. 

same  straight-forward,  smooth,  honest-seeming  and 
impressive  manner  is  maintained. 

When  we  open  the  New  Testament  and  follow 
the  Saviour  from  his  birth  to  the  cross,  and  from 
thence  to  the  grave,  and  in  his  ascension  to  the 
mediatorial  throne,  we  are  obliged  to  acknowledge, 
— yes,  rejecters  of  the  Bible  have  been  constrained 
to  acknowledge, — that  never  was  there  so  much  im- 
portant history — so  many  new  and  sublime  truths 
presented,  with  so  much  unaffected  simplicity  of 
manner.  It  is  the  artless  style  of  the  child  intent 
only  on  unbosoming  his  full  soul  in  his  parent's  ear, 
combined  with  the  maturity  of  the  power  of  utter- 
ance of  the  ripe  scholar.  Take,  for  example,  the 
narrative  of  the  last  supper,  the  report  of  Christ's 
last  discourse,  the  subsequent  arraignment  and  con- 
demnation of  Christ,  his  crucifixion,  burial,  resur- 
rection, and  ascension.  What  a  group  of  imposing 
events !  How  distinct  are  the  impressions  of  the 
whole  scene !  We  behold  the  trembling  disciples, 
trying  to  avoid  danger,  yet  lingering  with  deep  emo- 
tion near  the  place  of  the  solemn  catastrophe.  The 
meekness  of  Jesus  is  seen  in  vivid  contrast  to  the 
malignity  of  his  enemies.  We  follow  the  uncom- 
plaining sufferer  to  the  cross.  We  see  his  patience 
and  agony.  The  graves  open,  the  veil  of  the  temple 
is  rent  asunder,  the  earth  quakes,  darkness  shrouds 
the  land.  Jesus  prays  for  his  enemies,  groans  and 
diee;  and  the  scene  closes !  Could  a  few  paragraphs 


DR.   FRANKLIN.  119 

embrace,  in  a  clearer  manner,  and  in  a  more  con- 
vincing style,  more  incidents  of  thrilling  interest  ? 
Well  might  Sir  William  Jones  say  that  its  narra- 
tion is  more  exquisitely  beautiful  than  that  of  any 
other  book. 

Examples  of  sublime  composition  might  be  se- 
lected from  almost  any  part  of  the  Bible.  Let  the 
reader  re-peruse  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  children 
of  Israel  when  they  had  escaped  so  miraculously 
from  Pharaoh* — study  the  eloquent  language  of  the 
book  of  Job,  the  sublime  description  by  David  of 
the  descent  of  Jehovah  in  the  eighteenth  Psalm, 
and  the  unequalled  imagery  of  the  prophets,  espe- 
cially of  Isaiah,  and  judge  for  himself. 

We  are  told  that  when  Dr.  Franklin  was  Ameri- 
can minister  to  France,  the  French  nation  was  over- 
run with  infidel  sentiments.  Every  occasion  was 
Seized  to  cast  contempt  upon  the  Bible.  Franklin 
being  in  a  company  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  cul- 
tivated minds  but  of  skeptical  sentiments,  the  op- 
portunity was  improved  by  some  present  to  ridicule 
the  Scriptures.  Some  remarked  that  it  was  priest- 
craft, and  others  that  it  was  a  book  of  superstitious 
notions,  only  fit  for  old  women  and  children ;  while 
they  nearly  all  agreed  that  it  was  unfit  in  its  style 
for  people  of  refined  taste. 

On  making  this  last  remark  they  appealed  to 

*Ex.  xv. 


120       EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

Franklin,  whose  literary  acquirements  were  well 
known.  He  waived  the  subject,  and  proposed  that 
the  company  meet  at  an  appointed  time  and  place, 
and  that  each  should  read  an  example  of  beautiful  or 
sublime  composition  from  some  favourite  author.  The 
company  met.  Some  read  extracts  from  Homer; 
some  from  the  infidel  author,  Yoltaire.  Each  was 
enthusiastic  in  the  praise  of  the  selection  he  had 
made.  When  Franklin's  turn  came  he  read,  "God 
came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  Mount 
Paran.  His  glory  covered  the  heavens,  and  the 
earth  was  full  of  his  praise.  And  his  brightness 
was  as  the  light;  he  had  horns  coming  out  of 
his  hand :  and  there  was  the  hiding  of  his  power. 
Before  him  went  the  pestilence,  and  burning  coals 
went  forth  at  his  feet.  He  stood  and  measured  the 
earth ;  he  beheld  and  drove  asunder  the  nations  j 
and  the  everlasting  mountains  were  scattered,  the 
perpetual  hills  did  bow  :  his  ways  are  everlasting. 
I  saw  the  tents  of  Cushan  in  affliction  :  and  the 
curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian  did  tremble.  Was 
the  Lord  displeased  against  the  rivers  ?  was  thine 
anger  against  the  rivers  ?  was  thy  wrath  against  the 
sea,  that  thou  didst  ride  upon  thine  horses  and  thy 
chariots  of  salvation?  Thy  bow  was  made  quite 
naked,  according  to  the  oaths  of  the  tribes,  even 
thy  word.  Thou  didst  cleave  the  earth  with  rivers. 
The  mountains  saw  thee,  and  they  trembled ;  the 
overflowing  of  the  water  passed  by :  the  deep  ut- 


THE   EXAMPLE — THE   RESULT.  121 

tered  his  voice  and  lifted  up  his  hands  on  high. 
The  sun  and  moon  stood  still  in  their  habitation ;  at 
the  light  of  thine  arrows  they  went,  and  at  the  shining 
of  thy  glittering  spear.  Thou  didst  march  through 
the  land  in  indignation,  thou  didst  thresh  the  heathen 
in  anger.  Thou  wentest  forth  for  the  salvation  of 
thy  people,  even  for  salvation  with  thine  anointed. "* 
When  Franklin  had  finished  reading,  all  were  loud 
in  their  praises  of  his  author,  acknowledging  him 
to  be  more  sublime  than  any  whom  they  had  intro- 
duced. When  they  had  exhausted  their  commen- 
dations, he  simply  remarked,  holding  up  the  Bible, 
"This,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is  the  Bible,  and  I 
have  given  you  a  specimen  of  its  style,  of  which 
you  were  pleased  to  speak  lightly.  My  advice  to 
you  is,  never  to  disparage  a  book  with  which  you 
are  not  acquainted/^ 

SECTION  IV. — The  Harmony  of  all  its  Teachings. 

THE  Bible  may  well  be  called,  not  a  single  book, 
but  a  library.  It  is  made  up  of  many  books. 
There  is  the  book  of  Genesis.  In  it  is  contained, 
besides  the  most  ancient  and  thrillingly  interesting 
history,  the  beginning  of  the  revelation  of  those 
doctrines  of  which  we  have  before  spoken.  This 

*  Hab.  iii.  3—13. 

j-  We  do  not  know  the  authority  for  the  story — but  we 
may  credit  as  much  of  it  as  we  please. 
11 


122         EYIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

and  the  next  four  books  were  written  by  Moses. 
Then  comes  the  detailed  history  of  the  settlement 
of  the  Holy  Land,  and  next  the  history  of  the 
judges  and  kings  of  Israel,  and  through  them  all  is 
seen  an  illustration  of  the  same  great  moral  precepts, 
and  the  same  plan  of  G-od's  redeeming  love  is  gradu- 
ally unfolded.  When  the  various  prophets  begin  to 
speak,  the  revelation  is  still  more  clear,  the  lan- 
guage more  startling,  and  the  unveiling  of  Jehovah 
to  man  sublime,  though  he  still  makes  "  darkness 
his  secret  place,  and  his  pavilion  round  about  him 
dark  waters  and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies."  In  the 
New  Testament,  there  are  yet  many  different  writers, 
dwelling  upon  some  points  of  the  same  great  body 
of  doctrines,  while  they  are  giving  narratives  the 
most  important  and  yet  unpretending.  Now,  let 
the  reader  pause  for  a  moment,  and  think,  that  these 
books  were  written,  many  of  them  hundreds  of 
years  apart,  all  of  them  at  different  times,  by  men 
living  in  different  countries,  speaking  different  lan- 
guages, of  very  different  education  and  habits,  as  is 
evident  from  their  difference  in  style  of  composition, 
and  yet  no  one  writer  contradicts  what  the  other  has 
said.  There  is  nothing  in  a  later  writer  to  take 
back  or  amend  what  a  former  writer  states.  No 
clashing — not  a  shadow  of  disagreement  in  doc- 
trine. Does  Moses  establish  a  law  requiring  sacri- 
fices, thus  teaching  the  doctrine  of  atonement  ? — The 
authors  of  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people  de- 


DOCTRINES   THE   SAME.  123 

nounce  them  as  incurring  the  wrath  of  God  because 
his  altars  are  thrown  down.  Does  the  book  of 
Exodus  teach  that  thou  shalt  have  no  other  God 
but  Jehovah? — In  the  book  of  Kings  we  learn, 
that  the  sword  and  the  pestilence  are  sent  to  devour 
the  people,  because  their  groves  and  high  places  are 
full  of  the  images  of  false  gods.  Does  almost  the 
first  page  of  the  Scriptures  declare  that  "God 
blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanctified  it,"  and  are  we 
commanded,  a  little  farther  on,  to  "  remember  the 
Sabbath-day  and  keep  it  holy  ?" — If  we  open  to  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  far  down  upon  the  tide  of 
time,  in  the  midst  of  other  scenes  and  other  genera- 
tions, we  hear  him  exclaim,  "Blessed  is  the  man 
that  keepeth  the  Sabbath  from  polluting  it,"* 
and  adding,  "  If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the 
Sabbath,  from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  Holy  Day; 
and  call  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the 
Lord,  honourable  ;  and  shalt  honour  him,  not  doing 
thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine  own  pleasure,  nor 
speaking  thine  own  words ;  then  shalt  thou  delight 
thyself  in  the  Lord ;  and  I  will  cause  thee  to  ride 
upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee 
with  the  heritage  of  Jacob  thy  father;  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."*  If  certain 
blessings  are  promised  on  certain  conditions  in  the 
earliest  books,  the  same  conditions  are  enforced  and 

*  Isa.  Ivi.  52.  f  Isa-  lviii-  13»  14- 


124       EVIDENCE  FROM   THE   BIBLE  ITSELF. 

carried  out  in  all  the  books.  If  Moses,  in  his  fare- 
well address  to  his  people,  warns  them  of  conduct 
which  will  displease  God,  the  latest  prophet  lifts  up 
his  voice  with  divine  authority  and  declares  the 
coming  wrath  of  God  against  that  very  course  of 
conduct.  We  open  the  New  Testament  and  read, 
"Not  one  jot  nor  one  tittle  shall  pass  from  the  law 
until  all  be  fulfilled."  All  is  sanctioned.  The 
shadows  contained  in  the  cerentony  of  the  former 
revelation  are  lost  in  the  noonday  light  of  revela- 
tion, but  no  doctrine  is  altered.  The  emphatic  de- 
claration of  the  new  and  great  Teacher  is,  "  I  came 
not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it."  Four  differ- 
ent writers  take  up  the  history  of  Christ's  life,  and 
in  detailing  its  multiplied  transactions  we  see  the 
peculiar  style  of  each  writer,  as  he  gives  in  a  varied 
form  the  scenes  that  have  passed  before  him;  but 
not  a  shade  of  difference  in  any  doctrine  taught  by 
either  can  be  detected  in  their  several  gospels, 
though  in  some  incidental  matters  there  is  an  ap- 
parent not  a  real  disagreement,  rather  confirming 
than  weakening  the  evidence  of  their  genuineness. 
Thus  too  in  all  the  epistles  are  the  same  truths 
everywhere  unfolded  and  enforced.  In  every  book, 
then,  of  the  Bible,  we  see  scattered  rays  of  light; 
in  the  whole,  they  are  gathered  into  a  burning  focus. 
Surely  all  this  gives  the  most  satisfactory  evidence 
of  the  presence  of  the  Divine  Mind.  "  Holy  men" 
of  all  ages  who  penned  the  Sacred  Records  must 


A   SUPPOSED   CASE.  125 

have  spoken  "as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost/' 

SECTION  V. — The  Character  it  exhibits  of  Christ,  the 
Founder  of  Christianity. 

IN  most  of  the  States  of  our  country  there  is  a 
Retreat  for  the  Insane.  It  is  but  a  few  months  since 
I  was  in  an  institution  of  this  kind  at  Worcester  in 
Massachusetts.  It  is  eligibly  situated,  command- 
ing a  view  of  a  wide  extent  of  the  most  interesting 
part  of  the  State.  The  interior  arrangement  is 
equally  beautiful,  and  is  fitted  up  with  every  possi- 
ble convenience,  for  the  comfort  of  that  unfortunate 
class  of  our  fellow  beings  who  are  deprived  of  rea- 
son. The  long  airy  halls,  the  neatly  furnished 
rooms,  the  promenade  galleries,  and  the  kind  and 
laborious  attendance,  all  show  that  the  greatest 
wisdom  and  benevolence  have  been  exerted  in  estab- 
lishing this  Asylum.  Let  us  suppose  that  an  in- 
dividual man  had  conceived  the  idea  of  such  an 
institution ;  that  he  had  bestowed  all  his  wealth 
and  years  of  untiring  labour  upon  it;  that  it  was 
by  him  alone  that  the  insane  of  the  State  found 
here  either  the  means  of  the  restoration  of  their 
reason,  or  comfort  in  their  afflicting  bereavement; 
that  his  voice,  as  he  daily  visited  the  rooms  of  the 
inmates,  sounded  like  the  sweetest  music,  roused 
the  drooping  spirits  of  the  depressed,  and  calmed 
the  ravings  of  the  maniac.  If  you  knew  the  cha- 
11* 


126        EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 

racier  of  the  institution  and  the  relation  of  this 
benevolent  man  to  it,  you  would  be  prepared  to  ex- 
pect that  his  whole  character  was  of  the  most 
exalted  excellence.  You  would  look  for  an  exhi- 
bition in  him  of  goodness  and  usefulness,  in  all  the 
relations  of  life,  and  (according  to  his  means) 
towards  all  the  poor  and  suffering  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Or,  on  the  other  hand,  suppose  you  should  first 
become  acquainted  with  this  man  before  having 
been  in  his  Retreat  for  the  Insane,  and  before  having 
known  any  of  the  particulars  of  its  character, — you 
should  converse  with  him,  see  his  spirit  in  his  daily 
walk,  confer  with  his  intimate  friends  concerning 
him,  and,  in  fact,  become  well  acquainted  with  his 
character, — what  should  you  think  would  be  the  cha- 
racter of  such  a  Retreat  when  you  were  told  he  had 
been  the  founder  of  it  ?  You  would  at  once  say,  so 
excellent,  so  wise,  and  influential  a  man  would  esta- 
blish no  other  than  an  institution  which  would  be 
a  blessing  to  society.  It  will  be  like  the  man,  just 
as  you  would  have  said  under  the  other  supposition, 
while  looking  at  the  institution,  that  its  founder 
must  be  an  excellent  man.  To  be  told  that  an  un- 
feeling, selfish,  covetous  man  was  the  founder  of 
such  a  retreat,  or  one  having  the  appearance  and 
reputation  of  such  a  man,  would  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  there  was  some  deception  about  it,  and  that 
self-interest,  and  not  the  good  of  the  insane,  was 


CHRIST'S  LOVE.  127 

the  object  of  it.  We  might  expect  that  when  close- 
ly examined,  it  would  not  be  found  to  be  beneficial 
even  to  those  whom  it  pretended  to  benefit.  We 
expect  consistency  between  a  great,  a  benevolent 
and  useful  institution,  and  its  founder;  and  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  case,  it  must  be  so.  The  stream 
that  winds  its  sluggish  way  from  the  midst  of  a  low, 
nauseous  swamp,  will  not  yield  pure  water ;  nor  do 
we  expect  that  the  clear,  sweet  waters  of  a  spark- 
ling lake  will  be  replenished  from  such  a  source. 

The  Christian  religion,  we  have  proved,  is  the 
concentration  of  all  that  is  excellent.  It  offers  a 
retreat  for  poor  deluded,  sin-disordered  man.  It  is 
instituted  by  Christ,  its  founder,  without  cost  to 
those  it  benefits.  He  has  provided  in  it  every 
means  for  their  restoration  to  a  right  mind.  We 
infer  therefore  the  perfection  of  his  character ;  and 
if  we  find  it  to  be  so,  we  shall  have  another  evi- 
dence of  the  consistency  of  the  Bible,  and  of  its 
divine  origin.  Or,  if  we  examine  his  character,  as 
the  authors  of  the  gospels  represent  it  to  us,  with- 
out reference  to  our  knowledge  of  the  religion  he 
has  founded,  we  shall  infer  that  so  perfect  a  head 
must  establish  a  perfect  religion.  The  pure  foun- 
tain, high  up  in  the  mountain's  side,  will  send  forth 
sweet  waters. 

We  will  briefly  glance  at  the  character  of  Jesus. 
But  what  a  theme  !  How  can  we  begin  to  do  it 
justice  !  We  can  only  stand  wondering,  and,  point- 


128        EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE  ITSELF. 

ing  to  the  cross,  exclaim,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  I" 
What  love  was  exhibited  in  his  character  !  We 
need  not  contemplate  him,  as  he  leaves  for  a 
season  the  glories  of  heaven,  the  worship  of 
angels,  and  the  throne  of  his  father,  to  sojourn 
on  earth,  to  become  a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief.  We  may  fix  our  admiring 
gaze  upon  him  at  the  commencement  of  his  minis- 
try. Are  the  poor  begging  to  be  taught  the  way 
of  salvation,  that  having  suffered  with  the  "evil 
things"  of  this  world,  they  may  be  "comforted"  in 
Abraham's  bosom  ?  To  them  especially  does  he 
preach  the  gospel.  He  casts  his  eyes  over  suffering 
humanity,  and  beholding  the  blind  groping  in  dark- 
ness, he  touches  their  eyes  and  they  see.  But  he 
would  bestow  a  still  greater  blessing  upon  them ; 
he  bids  them  through  him  receive  the  light  of  eter- 
nal life.  He  sees  the  sick — he  heals  them,  and  bids 
them  receive  a  cure  for  their  sin-sick  souls.  While 
he  breaks  the  control  of  devils  over  the  bodies  of 
men,  he  would  strike  the  chains  that  bind  their 
souls  to  the  service  of  the  prince  of  devils.  When 
his  weeping  friends  stand  around  the  grave  of  a 
loved  relative,  he  weeps  in  sympathy  with  their  af- 
fliction ;  and  when  about  to  call  the  dead  to  life,  he 
instructs  them  in  the  great  truth,  that  he  is  the 
<(  resurrection  and  the  life,"  and  that  those  who  be- 
lieve in  him  "shall  never  die."  Thus  his  love 


HIS   KIND   WORDS.  129 

shows  itself  in  his  desire  to  do  good  to  the  bodies 
and  the  souls  of  men. 

But  not  only  in  his  acts  do  we  see  the  love  of 
the  Saviour.  It  is  set  forth  in  his  tender  language. 
"  The  Scriptures  contemplate  the  world,  labouring, 
restless,  fevered  about  the  various  concerns  of  the 
present  life ;  causing  their  cup  of  sorrow  to  overflow, 
by  holding  it  with  an  unsteady  hand ;  anxiously  look- 
ing onward  to  the  future — borrowing  the  distresses 
of  the  morrow  to  aggravate  those  of  to-day;  load- 
ing themselves  with  burdens  of  grief  which  do  not 
belong  to  them,  and  which  they  are  not  required  to 
bear ;  and,  surveying  this  scene  of  overtoiled  labour, 
and  sleepless  anxiety,  and  wasting  solicitude,  in 
which  mortals  are  embroiled,  the  voice  of  Jesus, 
the  friend  of  man,  and  the  tender  sympathizer  with 
human  woe,  is  heard,  rising  in  tones  of  the  kindest 
compassion,  above  the  sighs,  and  plaints,  and  groans 
of  the  multitude,  saying  '  Peace,  be  still ;  mourn- 
er, dry  thy  tears;  ye,  who  are  laden  with  the  self- 
imposed  burdens  of  worldly  care,  throw  off  the 
heavy  load.  Ye  destitute,  who  count  yourselves  out- 
casts of  the  world,  for  whom  no  one  cares,  know 
that  you  have  a  Father,  and  friend  in  the  God  of 
Providence  and  Grace.  Come,  learn  of  me,  and  I 
will  give  you  repose.  I  will  remove  your  anxieties, 
and  lay  your  hearts  to  rest  on  the  bosom  of  that  pater- 
nal Providence,  which  cares  and  provides  for  all  it  has 
made;  for  every  thing,  from  the  meanest  herb  which 
it  feeds  with  the  precious  dews;  up  to  the  immortal 


130        EVIDENCE   FROM  THE  BIBLE   ITSELF. 

soul  on  which  it  pours  the  immediate  influence  of 
the  divine  Spirit.'  "* 

Christ's  authority  is  another  striking  trait  in 
his  character.  He  spoke  not  as  the  scribes  and 
pharisees.  He  declared  his  doctrines  as  one  having 
authority.  His  words  were  full  of  wisdom  and  power. 
Head  his  sermon  on  the  Mount.  How  mild — how 
benevolent — and  yet  how  decided  !  "It  has  been 
said  of  old  time,  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for 
a  tooth,  but  /  say  unto  you,  resist  not  evil."  When 
dwelling  upon  awful  truths,  carrying  the  minds  of 
his  audience  forward  into  the  eternal  world,  and 
arraying  the  universe  before  himself,  with  what 
authority  he  speaks  of  the  separation  of  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked ;  "  These  shall  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the  righteous  into 
life  eternal."  When  the  prophets  wrought  the 
miracles,  they  were  careful  to  connect  with  them  the 
name  and  authority  of  the  Grod  of  Israel.  But  Jesus 
stands  at  the  grave  of  the  dead  and  says,  "  Come 
forth."  He  rebukes  the  wind,  saying,  "  Peace,  be 
still."  To  the  impure  his  language  is,  "/will,  be 
thou  clean."  He  spoke  as  one  who  was  conscious 
that  "  in  him  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead, 
bodily."  "  Surely  never  man  spake  like  this  man." 

But  not  only  in  the  annunciation  of  his  doctrines 
did  Christ  exhibit  his  authority ;  his  rebuke  of  sin, 
while  it  is  mingled  with  the  love  of  a  Saviour , 
shows  the  authority  of  the  Judge  of  the  world." 

*  Harris'  "  Great  Teacher." 


HIS   AUTHORITY   IN   REBUKING   SIN.         131 

"Witness  the  cleansing  of  the  temple.  Intent  on 
gain,  the  Jews  had  converted  the  holy  place  into 
a  scene  of  sacrilegious  traffic;  they  had  turned 
the  ancient  and  solemn  passover  itself  into  profit ; 
they  bartered  deep  in  the  blood  of  human  souls ; 
they  worshipped  mammon  in  his  Father's  house. 
But  '  suddenly  coming  to  his  temple/  he,  with  the 
tones  of  injured  and  insulted  Deity,  rained  on  their 
consciences  such  strokes  of  terrible  dismay,  that 
they  eagerly  sought  refuge  from  his  holy  indigna- 
tion in  flight,  leaving  him  the  Lord  and  sole  posses- 
sor of  the  sanctuary. 

"  But  chiefly  let  us  call  to  our  recollection  the  un- 
broken series  of  pregnant  woes  which  he  denounced 
during  his  last  visit  to  the  temple.  Long  had  he 
walked,  like  an  incarnate  conscience,  through  their 
guilty  land,  and  often  had  they  been  troubled,  and 
trembled  at  the  rebuke  of  his  sacred  presence. 
Having  nearly  filled  the  capacious  measure  of  their 
iniquity  by  rejecting  him,  they  were  about  to  make 
it  overflow  by  his  crucifixion.  Undeterred  by  the 
appalling  prospect,  he  came  with  unfaltering  step 
to  the  scene  of  his  sufferings,  to  finish  the  work 
which  was  given  him  to  do.  Finding  himself  sur- 
rounded in  the  temple  by  a  large  assemblage  of 
Jewish  doctors,  scribes,  and  lawyers,  and  pharisees, 
the  very  elements  and  essence  of  the  nation's  guilt ; 
he  assailed  and  demolished  the  enormous  fabric  of 
sanctimonious  hypocrisy,  which  their  laborious  im- 


132        EVIDENCE   FROM   THE  BIBLE   ITSELF. 

piety  had  reared,  and,  with  the  fidelity  and  fearless- 
ness of  the  King  of  martyrs,  denounced  and  de- 
livered his  final  protest  against  the  pride  and  the 
power  which  upheld  it.  They  had  occasionally 
heard  his  fearful  comminations  before,  and  trembled 
for  their  security,  for  every  word  was  a  weapon; 
but  now,  having  regularly  invested  and  approached 
their  fortified  guilt,  he  opened  on  them  the  dreadful 
artillery  of  his  divine  malediction.  An  occasional 
flash  had  before  apprized  them  that  a  storm  might 
be  near;  but  now,  having  collected  together  all  the 
materials  of  the  tempest  into  one  black  and  fearful 
mass,  and  having  awed  them  to  silence,  as  nature 
is  hushed  when  awaiting  a  crisis,  he  discharged  its 
tremendous  contents,  in  one  volleyed  and  prolonged 
explosion,  on  their  guilty  and  unsheltered  heads. 
He  arraigned  them  as  though  he  had  already 
ascended  the  seat  of  doom,  and  laid  open  all  the 
sepulchral  recesses  of  their  iniquity  as  though  he 
read  from  the  book  of  God's  remembrance.  Hypo- 
crisy was  unable  to  conceal  itself  in  the  cloud  of 
incense  which  it  offered.  The  proud,  the  covetous, 
the  intolerant,  he  confounded  and  covered  with  the 
shame  of  detection  and  conscious  guilt.  As  they  came 
up  for  judgment  in  succession,  he  fulminated  against 
them  the  woes  and  imprecations  of  his  wrath — '  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb/ — in  tones  anticipating  those 
of  their  final  sentence.  '  "Wo  unto  you,  scribes  and 
pharisees,  hypocrites  !  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of 


INSTANCE   OF  AUTHORITY.  133 

vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?" 
That  solemn  scene,  remembering  the  character  of 
the  Great  Reprover,  and  the  impending  judgments 
of  which  it  was  prognostic,  may  well  remind  us  of 
the  seven  apocalyptic  thunders  uttering  their  voices ; 
and  often,  may  we  suppose,  would  the  echoes  of  his 
denunciations  return  upon  the  ears  of  those  who  heard 
them  in  after  years,  like  the  distant  but  quailing 
reverberations  of  the  mount  that  burned."* 

It  will  not  surprise  us,  that  Christ  exhibited  such 
love,  and  also,  that  he  exhibited  such  authority  in 
his  teaching  and  rebukes,  when  we  consider  the 
mysterious  union  in  his  person  of  the  two  natures 
of  God  and  man.  It  is  in  this  peculiarity  of  his 
character  that  his  great  fitness  for  the  work  of 
man's  redemption  is  seen.  He  was  truly  man,  that 
he  might  be  "a  high  priest,  touched  with  the  feeling 
of  our  infirmities"  and  "  tempted  in  all  points  as  we 
are,  and  yet  without  sin" — that  men  might  contem- 
plate him  clothed  in  a  like  feeble  frame,  subjected 
to  hunger  and  thirst,  to  labour  and  weariness,  to  the 
scorn  and  buffeting  of  a  wicked  world, — might  see 
him  in  life's  sternest  conflicts,  and  from  his  example 
be  encouraged  to  endure  unto  the  end.  He  took 
upon  him  our  nature  that  he  might  suffer  the  pun- 
ishment due  to  sin.  But  to  give  efficiency  to  those 
sufferings,  to  clothe  his  example  with  authority,  to 
give  weight  to  his  teaching,  he  was  God  manifest  in 

*  Harris. 
12 


134       EVIDENCE   FROM  THE  BIBLE   ITSELF. 

the  flesh.  How  perfect  then  his  character !  How 
abundant  the  reasons  for  the  world  to  conie  to  him 
and  be  saved.  We  have  but  glanced  at  the  traits 
of  his  character.  How  must  the  study  of  it  impress 
us,  that  it  is  perfect — that  it  is  worthy  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  that  he  is  worthy  to  be  its  author ! 

Many  infidels,  after  attempting  to  disparage  other 
evidences  that  Christianity  is  of  God,  when  they 
have  contemplated  the  character  of  its  Founder, 
have  not  ventured  to  breathe  aught  against  him. 
Some  have  even  acknowledged  that  a  religion  with 
such  an  author  could  not  be  from  man. 

Even  the  celebrated  infidel  Rousseau,  is  compel- 
led to  bear  testimony  to  this  point,  "I  will  confess 
to  you,"  he  says,  "that  the  majesty  of  the  Scrip- 
tures strikes  me  with  admiration,  as  the  purity  of 
the  Gospel  hath  its  influence  on  my  heart.  Peruse 
the  works  of  philosophers,  with  all  their  pomp  of 
diction,  how  mean — how  contemptible  are  they,  com- 
pared with  the  Scriptures  !  Is  it  possible  that  a 
book,  at  once  so  simple  and  sublime,  should  be 
merely  the  work  of  man  ?  Is  it  possible  that  the 
sacred  personage,  whose  history  it  contains,  should 
be  himself  a  mere  man  ?  Do  we  find  that  he  as- 
sumed the  tone  of  an  enthusiast,  or  ambitious  sect- 
ary? What  sweetness,  what  purity  in  his  man- 
ner !  What  unaffected  gracefulness  in  his  delivery ! 
What  sublimity  in  his  maxims  !  What  profound 
wisdom  in  his  discourses  !  What  presence  of  mind, 


CHRIST'S  CHARACTER.  135 

what  subtlety,  what  truth  in  his  replies !  How 
great  the  command  of  his  passions !  Where  is  the 
man,  where  the  philosopher,  who  could  so  live,  and 
so  die,  without  weakness,  and  without  ostentation  ? 
When  Plato  described  his  imaginary  good  man, 
loaded  with  all  the  shame  of  guilt,  yet  meriting  all 
the  rewards  of  virtue,  he  described  exactly  the  cha- 
racter of  Jesus  Christ :  the  resemblance  was  so 
striking  that  all  the  Fathers  perceived  it." 

Well,  then,  may  the  defenders  of  the  Bible  glory 
in  the  character  of  Christ,  which  has  compelled 
even  the  opposers  of  religion  to  use  such  terms  of 
admiration.  Well  may  we  hold  up  his  perfect  life, 
his  mysterious,  yet  wonderful  nature,  and  exclaim, 
"  Here  is  a  theme  worthy  of  an  angel's  pen — yea, 
of  more  than  an  angel's  intellect.  Here  is  the 
grand  radiant  point,  towards  which  all  the  infinities 
converge  : — infinite  wisdom — infinite  love — infinite 
justice — infinite  mercy.  Depths,  heights,  length, 
breadth — all  passing  knowledge  \"  Innumerable 
pens  have  been  employed  upon  the  life,  character, 
preaching  and  mediatorial  work  of  Christ.  Hun- 
dreds of  commentaries,  more  or  less  critical  and 
extended,  have  been  written  upon  the  four  gospels. 
But  have  "  the  seven  seals"  all  been  opened  ?  Is 
there  nothing  left  to  reward  the  toil  of  those  who 
may  hereafter  devote  their  best  power  to  the  study 
and  elucidation  of  these  sacred  books  ?  "  Who  by 
searching  can  find  out  God,  or  who  can  find  out  the 


EVIDENCE   FROM   THE   BIBLE   ITSELF. 


fx>  perfection  ?"  The  character  of  Christ  is 
an  infinity  perfect  character.  The  gospels,  in  which 
he  is  exhibit  as  the  divine  object  of  our  faith  and 
love  and  aajmi>  u,  and  which  contain  the  record 
of  his  miracloK  i^irines  and  sufferings,  and  final 
triumph,  "were  gi^i  by  inspiration  of  God,"  and 
"the  treasures  of  tfr*v>m  and  knowledge"  which 
they  contain,  are  literal  rrexhaustible.  After  all 
c(  the  living  water'7  that  QBJ  ;*een  drawn  from  these 
"  wells  of  salvation,"  there  is  no  diminution  of  sup- 
ply. Were  a  thousand  of  the  most  gifted  and  holy 
men  on  earth  to  "  set  the  Lord  Jesus  always  before 
them,"  and  spend  their  whole  lives  in  studying  his 
holy  character,  they  would  be  so  far  from  exhausting 
the  theme,  that  other  thousands  more  gifted  and  more 
holy  might  find  ample  scope  for  the  employment  of 
their  powers,  down  to  the  end  of  time.  However 
great  and  good  the  last  writer,  upon  the  life,  cha- 
racter and  teachings  of  Christ  may  be,  and  with  all 
the  help  which  he  will  be  able  to  command,  he  must 
leave  the  divine  portraiture  still  unfinished.  Nor 
can  it  be  doubted,  that  the  mysteries  of  redemption, 
including  the  divine  and  mediatorial  character,  the 
incarnation  and  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God, 
will  employ  the  minds,  the  hearts  and  the  tongues 
of  the  redeemed,  through  everlasting  ages  ;  and  that 
new  developments  of  the  perfections  and  "  glory  of 
God,  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  be  made  for 
ever  and  ever." 


THE  OCEAN   STEAM-SHIP.  137 


TOWER  VI. 

EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE'. 
SECTION  I. — The  Exponents. 

A  FEW  years  ago,  a  learned  man  lectured  in  Lon- 
don to  prove  that  it  was  impossible  to  cross  the  At- 
lantic ocean  in  steam-ships.  He  showed,  no  doubt, 
very  clearly,  that  it  was  a  great  distance,  that  vio- 
lent storms  would  arise,  and  that  the  sea  would  over- 
whelm such  a  vessel ;  and  he  thought  he  proved 
that  it  would  take  more  coal  to  make  the  fires  under 
the  boilers  for  the  voyage  than  the  ship  could  carry. 
People  considered  him  very  wise,  and  almost  all  be- 
lieved what  he  said.  But  very  soon  you  might  have 
entered  the  ship-yard,  and  have  seen  the  carpenters 
making  a  vessel.  It  was  to  be  a  steam-ship,  and 
its  owners  meant  to  send  it  on  a  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic.  The  learned  man  lectured,  the  people 
came  to  see  the  ship  and  laughed,  or  shook  their 
heads  and  said,  "It  cannot  be  done/'  But  the 
workmen  worked  on.  By  and  by,  the  ship  was 
launched,  fitted  and  sent  to  sea.  In  about  two 
weeks  thousands  of  the  people  of  Boston  gathered 
12* 


138  EVIDENCE  FROM  EXPERIENCE. 

about  the  wharves,  and  shouted,  "  A  steam-ship  !  A 
steam-ship  from  England !"  Who  doubts  now  that 
we  can  go  to  London  or  Liverpool  by  steam?  Ex- 
perience proves  it,  and  it  must  be  so. 

A  good  man  by  the  name  of  Grant,  a  physician  by 
profession,  lived  in  the  state  of  New  York,  not  many 
years  since.  One  of  our  missionary  societies  sent 
him  to  Armenia,  a  country  in  Asia,  to  learn  what  the 
moral  state  of  the  people  was,  and  to  see  if  mission- 
aries could  be  sent  there.  He  travelled  extensively 
among  a  very  rude  people  called  Koords.  At  one 
time  he  was  called  very  suddenly  and  earnestly  to 
visit  one  of  their  chiefs  who  was  very  sick.  This 
chief  was  a  very  wicked  man,  and  if  Dr.  Grant  had 
not  pleased  him,  or  if  the  medicine  had  not 
produced  a  good  effect,  he  would,  perhaps,  have 
taken  his  life.  But  the  Doctor  went,  trusting  in 
God.  He  found  the  warrior  in  great  pain,  and  very 
sick.  He  told  him,  at  once,  that  he  must  have  some 
powerful  medicine,  and  that  it  would  make  him  feel, 
for  a  little  time,  very  disagreeable.  But  the  sick 
man  was  convinced  that  he  must  die  if  he  did  not 
get  immediate  relief;  for  this  reason,  he  took  the 
remedy.  Its  effects  were  indeed  very  powerful,  and 
for  a  time  his  life  seemed  to  be  quite  uncertain,  but 
God  blessed  the  means,  and  the  chief  was  restored  to 
health.  He  had  proved  the  missionary's  skill  and 
remedies  by  experience,  and  from  that  time  he 
placed  the  strongest  confidence  in  him. 


THE  POOL.  139 

I  will  present  one  more  illustration,  because  I 
wish  the  evidence  of  experience  to  make  a  deep  im- 
pression, that  my  readers  may  better  understand 
that  which  is  to  follow. 

There  was,  at  one  period,  in  Jerusalem,  a  pool  of 
water  which  had  this  remarkable  quality — that  at 
a  certain  season  of  the  year  the  water  was  trou- 
bled, and  whoever  then  first  stepped  into  it  was 
cured,  no  matter  what  was  his  disease.  We  will 
suppose  an  incident  connected  with  this  pool.  We 
will  sit  down  for  a  moment,  by  the  water,  at  the 
proper  time,  and  watch  the  approach  of  the  sick 
people.  There  comes  a  poor  leper.  His  face  looks 
like  one  mass  of  corruption,  and  if  you  should  re- 
move those  rags  which  in  part  cover  him,  his  whole 
body  would  exhibit  the  same  sad  sight.  See  how 
the  people  run  from  him,  fearing  lest  they  shall 
catch  his  dreadful  disease !  He  pauses  for  a  mo- 
ment on  the  brink  of  the  pool.  Is  he  afraid  that 
its  waters  are  no  better  than  other  waters,  and  does 
he  say  to  himself,  "  How  foolish  I  am  to  think  that 
so  simple  an  act  can  do  me  any  good  ?"  No,  he 
only  hesitates  because  his  trembling  limbs  refuse 
for  a  moment  to  move.  He  has  no  other  remedy — 
he  is  determined  to  try.  He  steps  in — and  in  a  mo- 
ment all  his  disease  is  removed,  and  he  is  made 
perfectly  well.  His  flesh  is  restored  as  the  flesh  of 
a  little  child.  He  has  proved  the  efficacy  of  the 
waters,  and  goes  home  praising  God.  Now,  will  the 


140  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

reader  attend  for  a  few  moments  patiently,  to  the 
application  of  all  these  illustrations  ? 

1.  The  Bible  teaches  us  that  we  have  a  dreadful 
disease — the    disease   of    sin.      That    "  the   whole 
head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  faint" — that  we 
are  full  of  wounds  and  bruises  and  putrefying  sores.* 
All  this  we  feel  in  ourselves  and  see  in  others.    The 
world  is  full  of  sin. 

2.  The  same  Bible  presents  to  us  a  remedy.     It 
tells  us  how  it  is  provided,  and  by  what  means  it  is 
to  be  applied,  and  describes  its  effects. 

3.  It  invites  us  to  prove  that  what  it  says  is  true 
by  experiments.    It  says,  "  Whosoever  will,  let  him 
come  unto  the  waters."     "  Wash  you  and  make  you 
clean."     "Taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good." 

4.  Many  people,  whose  testimony  ought  to  bo  re- 
ceived, have  made  the  experiment,  as  we  shall  show 
in  the  next  sections.     Every  person  may  try  the 
Bible  remedy  for  sin,  and  prove  its  efficacy  by  ex- 
perience, as  the  Koordish  Chief,  and  the  leper  in  Je- 
rusalem, tried  the  remedies  for  their  diseased  bodies. 

SECTION  II. — Testimony  from  Experience. 
IN  one  of  our  colleges  there  were  a  large  number 
of  young  men  pursuing  their  studies  with  the  hope 
of  qualifying  themselves  for  usefulness  and  distinc- 
tion in  life.     A  considerable  number  of  them  were 

*  Isa.  i.  6. 


THE  YOUNG   STUDENT.  141 

professors  of  religion,  but  the  larger  part,  though 
generally  moral,  were  not  religious.  By  the  good- 
ness of  God,  an  extraordinary  interest  in  religious 
subjects  was  awakened  among  them — such  as  is  usu- 
ally called  "a  revival."  Many  of  the  young  men  tried 
the  remedy  prescribed  in  the  Bible  for  a  wicked  na- 
ture, and  proved  it  to  be  efficacious.  There  was 
one  young  man  who  had  not  often  attended  religious 
services,  nor  had  he  been  under  the  particular  influ- 
ence of  his  devout  fellow-students;  but  he  knew  what 
instructions  the  Bible  gave  to  sinners,  and  what  it 
promised  to  the  obedient.  He  knew  also  what 
course  others  had  taken  to  become  better  men,  and 
he  had  heard  them  testify  concerning  the  happy 
effects  which  had  attended  their  trial.  He  there- 
fore went  into  his  room  one  afternoon,  locked  the 
door  and  gave  himself  up  to  serious  reflections.  His 
thoughts  and  reasonings  were,  in  substance,  as  fol- 
lows:— "I  hear  many  speak  of  a  'new  heart' — of 
having  been  the  subject  of  a  great  change.  These 
things  I  have  heard  often,  but  I  have  no  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  them.  Having  read  the  Bible 
from  my  youth,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  teaches 
plainly  the  necessity  of  this  change. 

"  But  if  what  is  taught  concerning  the  renewing  of 
the  heart  is  true,  I  may  know  it  by  the  most  satis- 
factory of  all  proof — I  may  try  it  for  myself.  I  am 
resolved  to  attend  the  meeting  for  prayer,  and  to  do 
so  this  very  evening.  I  will  state  to  my  Christian 


142  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

friends  just  what  my  feelings  are.  I  will  ask  their 
prayers  and  seek  their  counsel/' 

These  reflections,  which  I  have  given  as  the  sub- 
stance of  his  thoughts,  occupied  his  mind  for  several 
continuous  hours,  while,  no  doubt,  a  great  conflict 
was  going  on  in  his  feelings.  It  was  not  easy  to  do, 
what  he  saw  he  ought  to  do.  But  he  went  to  the 
meeting,  stated  his  purposes,  and  the  people  of  God 
instructed  him  and  prayed  for  him.  He  was  soon 
convinced  of  what  he  did  not  see  clearly  before — that 
he  was  a  great  sinner.  This  led  him  to  pray  earnest- 
ly and  to  cast  himself  for  salvation  on  Jesus  Christ. 

At  a  subsequent  period  of  his  college  course,  if 
you  had  entered  a  retired  room  in  the  college  build- 
ings, where  a  few  of  Christ's  professed  followers 
were  assembled  for  religious  exercises,  this  young 
man  might  have  been  seen  participating  in  those 
exercises,  showing,  by  his  spirit  and  conduct  as  well 
as  testifying  with  his  lips,  that  he  has  a  hope  through 
grace  of  "  an  inheritance  with  the  saints  in  light,"  and 
an  assurance  that  he  has  passed  from  death  unto  life. 

Years  have  rolled  on  since  those  delightful  as- 
semblings, but  the  change  then  professed  has  be- 
come more  and  more  manifest. 

Now  let  the  reader  accompany  me  to  a  beautiful 
and  retired  farm  not  far  from  the  great  metropolis 
of  New  England.  As  we  enter  that  venerable  look- 
ing house,  which  bears  the  marks  of  more  than  a 
hundred  years'  duration,  we  see,  sitting  around  the 


THE   FAMILY   GROUP.  143 

family  table,  three  aged,  interesting  persons.  That 
man  reading  the  Word  of  God,  whose  white  locks 
and  trembling  voice  at  once  arrest  our  attention,  is 
eighty-five  years  of  age — his  partner,  who  sits  lis- 
tening so  attentively,  is  eighty-three,  and  her  sister, 
who  bends  under  greater  infirmities  than  either,  is 
eighty-four — making,  in  their  united  ages,  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  voice  of  prayer 
ascends  from  the  head  of  the  household,  morning 
and  at  night,  as  they  kneel  around  the  family  altar. 
Tears  of  gratitude  often  steal  down  this  venerable 
disciple's  face,  as  the  tremulous  tones  of  his  once 
deep  and  melodious  voice  give  praises  to  the  God  of 
infinite  grace,  for  the  comforts  of  his  declining  years. 
If  we  had  entered  within  these  walls  but  a  few  years 
ago,  after  about  three  score  and  ten  years  had  passed 
over  this  man's  head,  we  should  have  perceived  the 
same  family  circle,  with  nearly  the  same  appearance 
of  age  and  infirmity.  But  no  family  altar  had  then 
been  erected.  Seldom  was  the  Bible  perused.  Life's 
sands  were  nearly  run  out,  the  grave  was  seen  al- 
ready opened  to  receive  its  victim,  but  to  him  it  was 
repulsive  and  cheerless.  He  did  not  like  to  think 
of  dying,  and  eternity  stood  forth  just  before  him, 
full  of  darkness  and  gloom.  The  Sabbath's  cheerful 
bells  awoke  no  pleasing  thoughts,  for  they  spoke  of 
neglected  privileges  and  unimproved  admonitions. 
But  what  a  change  has  come  over  that  old  man  ! 
Punctual  at  the  hour,  he  may  be  seen  at  the  house 


144  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

of  God,  nearly  every  Sabbath  of  the  year,  and  often 
amid  winter's  cold  and  summer's  heat,  though  he 
comes  from  a  distance  of  three  miles.  The  language 
of  his  heart  seems  to  be,  "  My  soul  longeth,  yea, 
even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord ;  my  heart 
and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God."  If  you 
speak  of  dying,  he  says,  "I  shall  soon  be  at  rest" — 
if  of  eternity,  he  answers,  "I  expect  to  spend  it  IB 
heaven." 

What  has  wrought  this  amazing  change  ?  A  few 
years  since,  he  directed  his  steps  to  a  church  where 
the  people  of  God  were  seeking  his  blessing,  and  his 
ministers  were  explaining  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  He 
saw  himself  a  sinner.  He  tried  the  remedy,  there 
revealed,  for  sin,  and  the  result  we  have  seen. 

Having  given  the  experience  of  a  young,  intelli- 
gent man,  and  that  of  an  old  man,  I  will  add  but 
one  more.  It  is  an  account  of  the  conversion  of  a 
very  young  girl,  written  by  the  celebrated  Jonathan 
Edwards,  a  great  and  good  man,  who  preached  in 
New  England  about  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
child's  name  was  Phebe  Bartlett.  Her  brother, 
about  eleven  years  old,  was  converted,  and  conversed 
with  her;  by  which  means,  under  the  Spirit  of 
God,  she  was  led  to  feel  that  she  was  a  sinner.  After 
this  she  began  to  retire  into  a  secret  place  to  pray, 
till  at  last  she  became  so  much  in  earnest,  that  she 
visited  the  place  of  prayer  five  or  six  times  a  day. 
She  spoke  to  her  mother  of  her  own  accord,  of  her 


PHEBE   BARTLETT.  145 

want  of  success  in  trying  to  obtain  salvation.  "  On 
Thursday,  (says  Dr.  Edwards,)  the  last  of  July, 
(1735,)  the  child  being  in  the  closet  where  it  used  to 
retire,  its  mother  heard  it  speaking  aloud,  which  was 
unusual,  and  never  had  been  observed  before ;  and  her 
voice  seemed  to  be  as  one  exceedingly  importunate 
and  engaged ;  but  her  mother  could  distinctly  hear 
only  these  words,  (spoken  in  her  childish  manner,  but 
which  seemed  to  be  spoken  with  extraordinary  ear- 
nestness and  out  of  distress  of  soul,)  "  Pray,  Messed 
Lord,  give  me  salvation  !  I  pray ,  beg,  pardon  all  my 
sins !"  When  the  child  had  done  prayer,  she  came  out 
of  the  closet  and  came  and  sat  down  by  her  mother, 
and  cried  out  aloud.  Her  mother,  very  earnestly 
several  times,  asked  her  what  the  matter  was,  be- 
fore she  would  make  any  answer;  but  she  continued 
crying  and  writhing  her  body  to  and  fro,  like  one 
in  anguish  of  spirit.  Her  mother  then  asked  her 
whether  she  was  afraid  God  would  not  give  her 
salvation.  She  answered,  "  Yes,  I  am  afraid  I  shall 
go  to  hell."  Her  mother  then  endeavoured  to  quiet 
her,  and  told  her  she  must  pray  every  day  and  she 
hoped  God  would  give  her  salvation.  But  she  con- 
tinued thus  earnestly  crying  for  some  time,  till,  at 
length,  she  suddenly  ceased  crying  and  began  to 
smile,  and  presently  said,  with  a  smiling  countenance, 
*(  Mother,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  come  to  me  !" 
The  little  girl  continued  to  be  happy  in  the  en- 
joyment of  the  presence  of  God,  and  in  many  ways 

13 


146  EVIDENCE  FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

stowed  that  there  was  a  real  change  wrought  in  her 
heart.  She  lived  to  be  seventy  years  old,  and 
throughout  her  life  adorned  a  Christian  profession. 
Her  memoir  is  one  of  the  publications  of  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday-school  Union. 

Will  the  reader  impress  the  particulars  of  these 
cases  on  the  mind,  while  I  present  the  memorials 
of  those  whose  education  and  circumstances  were 
very  different ;  but,  as  we  shall  see,  the  experience  is 
the  same? 

SECTION  III. — Testimony  from  Experience  among  tlie 
Heathen. 

The  Bible  professes  to  bring  good  tidings  to  all 
men.  There  is  not  a  dark  corner  of  the  earth  to 
which  its  light  may  not  be  carried.  There  are  none 
of  the  human  family  so  degraded  that  it  cannot  ex- 
alt them.  There  are  none  so  ignorant  and  vile  that 
it  cannot  enlighten  and  purify  them.  I  am  going 
to  show,  by  some  facts  carefully  copied  from  mis- 
sionary narratives,  that  all  I  have  said  is  true.  But 
first  let  me  remind  the  reader  that  the  heathen,  at 
the  time  these  facts  took  place,  were  as  miserable  and 
wicked  as  we  can  imagine  men  to  be.  I  will  state 
a  few  facts  concerning  heathen  people  generally, 
that  what  follows  may  be  more  fully  understood. 

Whole  nations  of  them  are  murderers.  In  some 
countries  the  parents  often  cast  their  children  into 
the  streets  and  rivers  to  die.  The  children,  in  their 


THE   STATE   OF   THE   HEATHEN.  147 

turn,  carry  their  parents  into  the  woods,  when  they 
are  old  and  helpless,  to  starve,  or  be  devoured  by 
wild  beasts. 

They  are  idolaters.  They  worship  almost  every 
thing  upon  which  they  can  place  their  thoughts — • 
the  heavenly  bodies,  the  creeping  things  of  the 
earth,  the  works  of  their  own  hands  and  the  spirit 
of  their  own  imaginations.  The  Great  God  they 
do  not  like  to  retain  in  their  thoughts. 

They  lie  so  constantly  that  they  scarcely  think  it  is 
wrong.  Missionaries  say  that  this  is  the  case  with 
all  classes  of  heathens,  in  every  place  where  they 
have  been.  Children  lie  to  their  parents,  kings  lie 
to  their  people  and  all  the  people  lie  to  each  other. 

The  heathen,  as  nations,  are  thieves.  Parents  do 
not  teach  their  children  that  this  is  wrong,  but 
laugh  at  their  cunning  when  they  steal  so  as  not  to 
be  detected.  Kings  do  not  trust  their  people  and 
the  people  do  not  trust  each  other. 

The  hearts  of  the  heathen  are  full  of  all  manner  of 
wicked  feelings.  They  do  not  live  happily  together  as 
families  or  as  communities.  They  hate  each  other, 
they  hurt  and  often  kill  each  other,  and  sometimes 
eat  the  bodies  of  those  they  have  slain.  Love  does 
not  dwell  in  them,  and  they  are  almost  strangers 
to  kindness. 

Now  if  these  wicked  nations  hear  the  gospel — 
if  they  listen  to  what  the  Bible  commands  them  to 
do  and  obey  it;  and  they  are  made  good  and  happy 


148  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

by  it,  will  it  not  still  further  show  that  the  Bible 
must  be  from  God  ? 

We  might  go  to  Greenland,  that  cold  country, 
where  the  people  are  covered  with  furs  and  live  on 
seals  and  fish,  whose  huts  are  dark  and  dreary,  but 
whose  minds  were  much  more  dark  and  gloomy  be- 
fore they  received  the  Bible,  and  there  we  should 
find  some  whom  a  belief  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible  has  made  good.  If  we  should  go  among  the 
millions  of  India,  there  would  be  many  witnesses 
of  its  power  to  save  from  sin.  If  we  should  inquire 
among  the  wandering  tribes  of  Africa,  hundreds 
with  happy  hearts  and  joyful  countenances  would 
answer,  "  We  know  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  since  the  missionary  brought  to  us  the 
Good  Book."  And  if  we  should  visit  the  wild  sons 
of  our  own  western  wilderness,  they  would  tell  us, 
"  Since  the  Great  Spirit  sent  his  white  children  with 
much  talk  about  Jesus,  we  have  another  heart/' 
From  all  these  different  nations,  thousands  of  wit- 
nesses are  raised  up  every  year.  We  may  select 
examples  from  any  narrative  of  missionary  labour 
upon  which  we  chance  to  lay  our  hands. 

1.  Will  my  readers  notice,  in  the  first  place,  that 
in  all  these  cases  in  both  sections,  there  is  a  sense 
of  sinfulness  begotten  by  the  truth  of  the  Bible  ?  It 
does  not  manifest  itself  in  the  same  way;  it  is  not 
equally  pungent  in  all,  but  it  leads  to  the  same  re- 
sults in  all — a  desire  for  a  new  heart. 


REMARKS.  149 

2.  Again,  the  same  means  were  used  by  each — 
prayer,  application  to  Christian  instructors,  reading 
of  the  Bible  and  faith  in  Christ. 

3.  The  same  joyful  state  of  mind  is  attained  by 
each  disciple. 

4.  All  these,  the  preparation,  the  means  and  the 
result,  are  precisely  what  the  Bible  describes,  and 
they  all  occur  under  the  influence  of  its  sacred  truth. 

SECTION  IV. — Scripture  Test  of  Experience. 

IF  a  man  has  been  very  sick,  and  has  taken  a 
certain  medicine  prescribed,  and  says  it  has  made 
him  well,  if  I  know  him  to  be  a  man  of  truth,  I 
ought  to  believe  him.  And  if  a  great  many  are 
sick,  and  a  large  number  of  the  most  intelligent  of 
them  try  a  certain  remedy,  and  they  all  agree  that 
its  effects  are  beneficial,  they  ought  to  be  believed. 
But  if,  in  addition  to  what  they  say  about  their  cure, 
they  get  up  immediately  from  sick  beds,  after  taking 
the  medicine,  become  strong,  their  pale  and  languid 
looks  giving  way  to  the  rosy  hue  of  health,  and  if 
they  are  moreover  enabled  to  perform  their  accus- 
tomed labour;  and  if  this  effect  follows  in  every 
case  when  the  medicine  is  taken  according  to  the 
directions  given,  then  there  is  a  proof  of  its  excel- 
lence from  its  effects,  and  these  effects  are  tests  by 
which  we  may  know  a  cure  has  been  wrought. 

Not  many  years  ago,  a  physician  prepared  a  com* 
pound  which,  as  he  supposed,  would  cure  people  of 


150  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

the  love  of  intoxicating  drink.  It  was  put  up  in 
bottles,  and  sold  for  a  great  price.  People  bought 
it  for  their  friends  who  were  disposed  to  intempe- 
rance. When  it  was  taken,  it  made  the  poor  ine- 
briate exceedingly  sick,  so  that,  for  the  time,  he 
loathed  the  very  smell  and  sight  of  strong  drink,  and 
thought  then  he  never  should  touch  it  again.  But 
after  a  short  time,  his  appetite  for  it  returned,  and 
he  was  found  to  be  the  same  poor  slave  to  his  cup  as 
before.  The  remedy  could  not  bear  the  only  true 
test,  viz.  its  power  to  cure.  Now,  if  all  these  per- 
sons who  took  the  medicine  became  sober  citizens 
afterwards,  provided  for  their  families,  went  about 
their  accustomed  business  with  a  cheerful  counte- 
nance and  happy  heart,  no  reasonable  person  would 
doubt  its  efficacy.  Those  reformed  by  it  might  feel- 
ingly relate  how  sad  had  been  their  state,  what  glad 
news  it  was  to  their  ears  that  a  remedy  had  been 
found,  and  they  might  describe  in  glowing  language, 
the  happy  change  which  had  been  wrought.  And 
yet  perhaps,  some  would  be  disposed  to  deride  them 
and  say,  "  This  is  all  delusion — you  are  excited—- 
you have  still  the  same  appetites,  and  will,  if  cir- 
cumstances are  favourable,  be  guilty  of  the  same 
brutal  sin."  But  an  honest  by-stander  would  say, 
"  You  do  not  judge  candidly.  I  have  known  some 
of  these  men  for  many  years.  You  see  that  old 
man  with  snow-white  locks,  and  trembling  limbs. 
Did  you  see  the  tear  which  rolled  down  his  face 


THE  OLD  INEBRIATE'S  CASE.  151 

when  he  spoke  of  what  he  was  before  he  took  the 
remedy,  and  what  he  has  been  since  ?  I  have  known 
him  for  these  many  years.  He  killed  his  poor  wife 
by  unkind  treatment.  He  wasted  a  valuable  estate 
left  him  by  his  parents,  and  his  family  became  de- 
pendent upon  charity.  The  old  man,  who  is  natu- 
rally good-natured,  used  to  have  seasons  of  penitence 
and  often  resolved  to  retorm.  But  when  the  hour 
of  temptation  came,  he  fell,  and  after  many  such 
efforts  he  became  discouraged  and  used  to  say, 
weeping,  as  the  cup  of  his  ruin  went  to  his  lips,  i  I 
must  drink — I  must,  even  if  it  kills  me/  His 
friends  heard  of  the  remedy,  and  procured  it  for  him. 
The  old  man  seized  it  and  exclaimed,  i  It  is  my  only 
chance,  I  can  but  try  it ;  all  else  has  failed/  He 
drank  it.  It  is  ten  long  years  since,  and  during  all 
that  time  he  has  been  what  you  see  him  now — a 
sober  and  happy  man.  He  has  collected  his  scat- 
tered family,  and  by  the  new  life  his  altered  cha- 
racter has  infused  into  them,  they  obtain  a  com- 
fortable living/'  In  this  supposed  narrative  the  test 
is  presented.  The  remedy  proves  efficient.  It  has 
made  a  sober  man  out  of  an  inebriate. 

Now  the  Bible  has  not  only  demanded  that  the 
testimony  of  those  who  try  its  remedy  for  sin  should 
be  believed,  but  it  says,  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them."  "  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance/ '  Surely  men  may  judge 


152  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

whether  (t  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  etc." 
follow  an  application  of  this  remedy.  But  if  I 
should  see  a  person  or  many  persons  who  profess  to 
have  used  the  gospel  remedy,  but  whom  the  test 
condemns,  what  should  I  say  ?  Certainly,  they  have 
not  followed  the  directions. 

If  the  conditions  of  salvation  from  sin  which  the 
Eible  prescribes  are  not  complied  with,  as  they 
certainly  are  not  by  many  who  profess  to  be  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  of  course  they  do  not  produce  the 
"  fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  "  and  are  none  of  Christ's/' 
But  I  could  show,  by  a  great  many  authentic  nar- 
ratives of  the  life  and  conduct  of  persons  brought 
under  gospel  influences  and  made  obedient  to  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  that  their  lives,  after  their 
conversion,  have  been  marked  by  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  such  as  "long-suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness," while  before,  they  were  full  of  the  works  of 
the  flesh,  "  hatred,  variance,  strife,  envyings,  etc." 
There  is  scarcely  a  village  in  our  wide-spread,  happy 
country,  where  there  is  not  an  example.  All  can 
see  that  men  are  made  holy  if  they  obey  the  Bible. 
But  in  heathen  lands,  where  the  Bible  is  not  known, 
and  no  such  fruit  is  found,  so  soon  as  the  mission- 
aries appear  proclaiming  Christ  and  him  crucified, 
a  change  occurs,  like  the  fading  of  night  before 
the  morning  sun — darkness  flees  away  as  soon  as  the 
true  light  shines. 

A  noble   English   ship  was  once   sailing  along 


THE   SHIPWRECKED   SAILORS.  153 

the  coast  of  Africa.  For  many  days  they 
trimmed  their  sails  to  a  fair  breeze,  and  sped 
swiftly  on  towards  their  desired  haven.  But  the 
tempest  arose.  The  sea  rolled,  and  night  shut  in 
upon  them  amidst  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  and 
loud  and  long  continued  peals  of  thunder.  When 
the  morning  dawned,  they  were  running  with  fear- 
ful rapidity  upon  a  rocky  coast.  No  human  power 
could  save  the  ship.  It  was  dashed  to  pieces,  and 
about  eighty,  out  of  a  company  of  one  hundred,  were 
cast  alive  upon  the  inhospitable  coast.  The  Kafirs 
were  then  (as  were  all  the  African  tribes)  a  fierce 
and  bloody  people.  They  seized  and  stripped  the 
sufferers  of  everything,  and  beat  them  cruelly  and 
left  them  to  prolong,  as  they  could,  their  miserable 
existence.  Some  of  them  they  afterwards  killed, 
some  they  enslaved,  and  a  few,  having  suffered  in- 
credible hardships,  arrived  among  the  white  settlers 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Time  passed  on,  and  not  many  years  after,  the 
missionaries,  with  much  suffering,  toil  and  loss  of 
life,  established  a  mission  among  those  same  Kafirs. 
Near  that  very  spot,  where  the  sailors  and  passengers 
were  robbed  and  beaten,  stood  a  house  of  worship. 
Thither  on  the  holy  Sabbath  flocked  a  multitude  of 
natives  neatly  apparelled  and  orderly  in  behaviour. 
The  beacon  fires  had  ceased  to  blaze  from  the  tops 
of  their  hills,  to  decoy  ships  upon  the  fatal  shore, 
that  they  might  plunder  them.  The  bloody  sacri- 


154  EVIDENCE  FROM  EXPERIENCE. 

fices  of  human  victims  had  given  way  to  the  sacri- 
fices of  a  broken  spirit  and  a  contrite  heart.  Another 
gallant  ship  was  seen  from  the  highlands,  struggling 
with  the  winds  and  waves  which  were  urging  her 
into  the  fatal  breakers.  Her  suffering  crew  and 
passengers  and  valuable  cargo  were  thrown  upon 
the  shore.  The  sailors  knew  not  where  they  were, 
but  stood  trembling,  expecting  to  be  plundered  and 
then  beaten  and  led  into  captivity,  or  perhaps  speared 
upon  the  spot.  But  the  natives  approached  them 
kindly.  "  We  cannot  kill  them,"  they  said.  "  The 
missionaries  have  come,  who  preach,  every  Sabbath, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  kill/  We  cannot  take  these  goods, 
for  they  say,  '  Thou  shalt  not  steal/  We  will  carry 
these  men  to  the  missionaries  •"  and  the  poor  sailors 
were  soon  housed  and  fed  beneath  a  friendly  roof ! 
They  afforded  the  Bible  test  that  they  had  been  made 
better.  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them/' 

About  thirty  years  ago  the  Sandwich  Islands 
were  visited  by  the  missionaries.  They  were  then 
peopled  by  nations  of  idolaters.  Their  kings  were 
oppressive  and  blood-thirsty,  often  commanding  the 
head  of  a  subject  to  be  cut  off,  to  gratify  a  momen- 
tary passion.  The  most  bloody  wars  were  con- 
stantly carried  on  among  themselves,  and  the  great- 
est cruelties  perpetrated.  Ships  dare  not  land  their 
crews  for  water,  provisions  or  trade,  except  they 
were  well  armed.  And  if  the  whale-ship  in  dis- 
tress— after  cruising  many  a  weary  month,  and 


THE   SANDWICH  ISLANDS.  155 

braving  the  storms  until  her  sails  were  torn  and  her 
crew  fainting  from  constant  toil — dared  venture 
near  their  shore,  instead  of  water  and  provisions 
and  rest,  they  would  find  robbery  and  murder. 
But  the  Bible  has  been  there.  Their  idols  are 
burned.  The  king  now  rules  in  the  fear  of  God,  and 
the  people  obey  because  they  love  their  rulers. 
The  house  of  God  stands  within  sight  of  the  dis- 
tressed sailor,  a  beacon  to  assure  him  that  he  is  wel- 
come to  a  friendly  shore  and  a  Christian  home. 
The  Sabbath  bells  are  heard,  and  a  happy  company 
go  up  to  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house  to  worship. 
The  largest  Christian  church  of  any  Christian  or 
heathen  land  is  there,  having  over  five  thousand 
members.  What  has  wrought  this  marvellous 
change  ?  The  Bible  !  They  have  taken  it,  have 
learned  to  read  its  sacred  pages,  and  it  has  made 
them  a  civilized  and  happy,  because  a  good  people. 
Is  there  any  other  book  which  does  not  derive  its 
doctrine  from  the  Bible,  which  produces  such  effects 
wherever  it  is  received  ?  Even  its  enemies  do  not 
pretend  there  is.  Now  let  it  be  remembered  that 
the  Bible  declares  that  the  great  object  of  its  teach- 
ings is  to  produce  just  such  effects.  This  then  is 
God 's  Book. 

SECTION  V. — Dying  Testimony. 

We  have  given  what  we  believe  to  be  a  good  test 
of  the  genuineness  of  the  experience  professed  by 


156  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

Christians.  Another  important  proof  of  its  reality 
is  the  testimony  given  in  a  dying  hour.  When 
men  know  that  they  are  about  to  leave  this  world 
for  a  mysterious  and  eternal  existence,  the  real 
state  of  their  heart  is  very  likely  to  be  developed. 
Ambition,  love  of  applause,  worldly  pleasure  and 
wealth,  sink  into  insignificance,  while  the  soul's 
interests  are  seen  in  something  like  their  true  light. 
Now  what  is  the  testimony  which  comes  from  such 
an  hour?  Is  it  in  favour  or  against  the  truths 
taught  in  the  Bible  ?  Is  the  consolation  it  promises 
realized  ?  Do  believers  in  its  doctrines  fall  asleep  in 
Jesus  ?  Do  they  feel  assured,  in  so  solemn  a  crisis, 
that  to  be  absent  from  the  body  is  to  be  present 
with  the  Lord?  Does  the  conviction  which  they 
have  cherished  in  health,  that  they  have  a  spiritual 
life  in  God,  and  that  he  is  in  an  especial  manner  their 
Father,  increase  or  diminish,  at  the  moment  when 
the  veil  is  withdrawn  and  the  light  of  eternity 
flashes  upon  their  vision  ?  And  how  do  those  who 
have  no  such  experience  feel  then  ?  Is  there  any 
difference  of  hope  or  fear  between  the  two  classes, 
and  is  the  difference  almost  uniform  among  men  of 
different  outward  circumstances  and  varieties  of  edu- 
cation and  position  in  society  ?  On  which  side  are 
hope  and  comfort  ? 

Some  would  disparage  the  testimony  of  a  dying 
hour  because  the  mind  is  then  weak  and  often 
times  disordered.  But  there  is,  also;  not  unfre- 


DYING  FANCIES.  157 

quently,  a  quickening  of  mental  perception;  and  a 
grasp  of  thought  unequalled  in  health.  What  utte- 
rance do  these  quickened  energies  give  ? 

Allow  for  a  moment  that  the  testimony  of  the 
dying  is  fancy,  how  is  it  that  the  pleasant  and  con- 
soling imaginings  are  so  uniformly  the  experience  of 
the  righteous,  or  of  those  who  professed  to  have  re- 
ceived and  obeyed  the  Bible  of  God's  truth  ? 

"My  attention  was  awakened  very  much,"  says 
one,  "  by  observing  the  dying  fancies  of  the  servants 
of  this  world,  differing  with  such  characteristic  sin- 
gularity from  the  fancies  of  the  departing  Christian. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  those  who  die  to  be- 
lieve they  see,  or  hear,  or  feel,  that  which  appears 
only  fancy  to  by-standers.  Their  friends  believe 
that  it  is  the  overturning  of  their  intellect.  I  am 
not  about  to  enter  into  the  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  is,  or  is  not,  always  fancy.  Some 
attribute  it  to  more  than  fancy ;  but  inasmuch  as,  in 
many  instances,  the  mind  is  deranged  whilst  its 
habitation  is  falling  into  ruins  around  it,  and  inas- 
much as  it  is  the  common  belief  that  it  is  only 
imagination  of  which  I  am  writing,  we  will  look  at 
it  under  the  name  of  fancy. 

"  The  fanciful  views  of  the  dying  servants  of  sin 
and  the  devoted  friends  of  Christ,  were  strangely 
different  as  far  as  my  observation  extended.  One 
who  had  been  an  entire  sensualist  and  a  mocker  at 
religion,  whilst  dying,  appeared  in  his  senses  in  all 
u 


158  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

but  one  thing.  '  Take  that  black  man  from  the 
room/  said  he.  He  was  answered  that  there  was  no 
black  man  there.  He  replied,  '  There  he  is,  standing 
near  the  window.  His  presence  is  very  irksome  to 
me.  Take  him  out/  After  a  time,  again  and  again 
his  call  was,  'Will  no  one  remove  him?  Surely 
some  one  will  take  him  away/  I  was  mentioning  to 
another  physician,  my  surprise  that  he  should  have 
been  so  much  distressed,  even  if  there  had  been 
many  blacks  in  the  room,  for  he  had  been  waited  on 
by  them  day  and  night  for  many  years;  also,  that  the 
mind  had  not  been  diseased  in  some  other  respects  : 
when  he  told  me  the  names  of  two  others,  (his 
patients,)  men  of  similar  lives,  who  were  tormented 
with  the  same  fancy,  and  in  the  same  way,  whilst 
dying. 

"  A  young  female,  who  called  the  Man  of  Calvary 
her  greatest  friend,  was,  when  dying,  in  her  senses 
in  all  but  one  particular.  l  Mother/  she  would 
say,  pointing  in  a  certain  direction,  ( Do  you  see 
those  beautiful  creatures?'  Her  mother  would 
answer  ( No,  there  is  no  one  there,  my  dear/  She 
would  reply,  'Well  that  is  strange.  I  never  saw 
such  countenances  and  such  attire.  My  eyes  never 
rested  on  any  thing  so  lovely/  'Oh/  says  one,  'this 
is  all  imagination,  and  the  notions  of  a  mind  collaps- 
ing; wherefore  tell  of  it  V  My  answer  is,  I  am  not 
about  to  dispute  or  deny  that  it  is  fancy ;  but  the 
fancies  differ  in  features  and  in  texture.  Some,  in 


THE   IMPORTANT   ITEM.  159 

their  derangement,  call  out,  (  Catch  me,  I  am  sink- 
ing :  hold  me,  I  am  falling/  Others  say,  '  Do 
you  hear  that  music  ?  0,  were  ever  notes  so  celes- 
tial !'  This  kind  of  notes  and  these  classes  of  fan- 
cies, belong  to  different  classes  of  individuals,  and 
who  they  were  was  the  item  which  attracted  my 
wonder.  Such  things  are  noticed  by  few  and  re- 
membered by  almost  none ;  but  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that,  if  notes  were  kept  of  such  cases, 
volumes  of  interest  might.be  formed."* 

The  important  truth  suggested  in  the  above  quo- 
tation is  confirmed  by  the  observation  of  every  can- 
did man.  Volumes  of  well  authenticated  biogra- 
phies add  weight  to  the  testimony.  I  will  present 
a  few  instances  setting  this  convicting  truth  in  a 
etill  clearer  light : 

Dr.  Cooper,  an  Englishman,  once  a  judge  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  afterwards,  for  a  time,  president  of  a 
College  in  one  of  the  Southern  states,  was  a  man  of 
distinguished  talents.  He  wrote  against  the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath,  and  against  the  ministry,  and  reasoned 
much  against  the  Bible.  His  death,  compared  with 
the  death  of  some  unbelievers,  was  triumphant; 
and  yet  let  the  reader  observe  the  whole  of  the  con- 
solation he  claims  in  view  of  death.  He  says,  in  a 
letter  to  Judge  Her  tell,  just  before  his  death,  "  My 

*  Cause  and  Cure  of  Infidelity — New  York  edition,  en.  x. 
p.  267. 


160  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

shortness  of  breath  is  more  distressing;  my  legs 
swell  painfully  by  bed-time.  I  walk  with  some 
difficulty  from  one  room  to  the  opposite.  It  is  pos- 
sible I  may  live  over  this  spring.  I  greatly  dis- 
approve of  all  kinds  of  clerical  religion,  as  I  do  of 
the  whole  clerical  body  everywhere.  Of  a  future 
state  I  have  no  evidence.  Knowing,  therefore,  no- 
thing about  it,  I  shall  die  believing  nothing,  hoping 
nothing ,  fearing  nothing,  caring  nothing"  Thus,  by 
his  own  confession,  there  was  no  hope  in  his  death. 
Let  us  visit  now  another  chamber  ofv  sickness  and 
expected  death.  It  is  that  of  Dr.  Leechman,  prin- 
cipal of  the  College  of  Glasgow.  He  lived  a  life  of 
unostentatious  piety,  doing  good,  and  greatly  be- 
loved. One  of  the  professors  brought  to  his  bed- 
side a  young  Oxford  student,  who  had  been  com- 
mitted by  his  father,  a  nobleman,  to  the  care  of 
Dr.  Leechman,  for  the  early  part  of  his  education. 
"  He  took  the  young  scholar  by  the  hand,"  (says  a 
friend,)  "and,  with  a  venerable  placid  aspect,  an  ani- 
mated eye,  a  distinct  though  feeble  articulation, 
said,  (  You  see  what  a  situation  I  am  in,  I  have 
not  many  days  to  live ;  and  I  am  glad  you  have  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  the  tranquillity  of  my  last 
moments.  But  it  is  not  tranquillity  and  composure 
alone,  it  is  joy  and  triumph,  it  is  complete  exulta- 
tion •/  his  features  kindled,  his  voice  rose  as  he 
spoke.  '  And  whence/  continued  he,  ( does  this  ex- 
ultation spring  ?  from  that  Book]  pointing  to  a 


RANDOLPH  OF  ROANOKE.         161 

Bible  which  lay  on  a  little  tahle  by  his  bed-side, 
'from  that  Book,  too  much  neglected  indeed,  but 
which  contains  invaluable  treasure  !  Treasures  of  joy 
and  rejoicing;  for  it  makes  us  certain  that  this  mor- 
tal shall  put  on  immortality.  Come,  Lord  Jesus, 
come  quickly !  Thanks  be  unto  God  who  giveth 
me  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ/  n 

Here  is  the  dying  experience  of  a  rejecter  of  the 
Bible,  contrasted  with  that  of  one  who  claims,  al- 
most with  his  expiring  breath,  that  his  hopes  and 
joys  are  derived  from  its  teaching.  Can  any  candid 
man  refuse  such  testimony  ?  But  we  will  present 
one  more  contrast. 

The  celebrated  John  Randolph  was  a  m&n  of  dis- 
tinguished talents,  but  devoted  most  of  his  life  to 
the  pursuit  of  the  world.  He  says,  near  his 
last  moments,  "  I  have  looked  to  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  hope  I  have  obtained  pardon."  I  do  not  wish 
to  deny  that  it  is  possible  he  did  obtain  mercy,  for 
God  is  of  "  great  mercy/'  but  the  following  quo- 
tation will  show  his  own  views  of  the  life  he  had 
lived — its  nature  in  the  estimation  of  a  dying  states- 
man. The  account  is  by  his  physician. 

"  For  a  short  time  he  lay  perfectly  quiet,  his  eyes 
were  closed  and  I  concluded  he  was  disposed  to 
sleep.  He  suddenly  roused  from  this  state,  with 
the  words,  ( Remorse  !'  '  Remorse  !'  It  was  twice 
repeated ;  at  the  last  time  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
evidently  with  great  agitation,  he  cried  out  'Let 

14* 


162  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 

me  see  the  word  P  No  reply  was  made :  having 
learned  enough  of  the  character  of  my  patient  to 
ascertain,  that,  when  I  did  not  know  exactly  what  to 
say,  it  was  best  to  say  nothing.  He  then  exclaimed, 
*  Get  a  dictionary — Let  me  see  the  word  V  I  cast 
my  eyes  around  me  and  told  him  I  believed  that 
there  was  none  in  the  room.  ( Write  it  down 
then — Let  me  see  the  word  !'  I  picked  up  one  of 
his  cards  from  the  table,  '  Randolph  of  Roanoke/ 
and  inquired  whether  I  should  write  upon  that. 
(  Yes,  nothing  more  proper/  Then  with  my  pencil 
I  wrote  "  remorse/'  He  took  the  card  in  his  hands, 
in  a  hurried  manner,  and  fastened  his  eyes  upon  it 
with  great  intensity.  '  Write  it  on  the  back  P  he 
exclaimed.  I  did  so  and  handed  it  to  him  again. 
He  was  exceedingly  agitated  at  this  period — he  re- 
peated '  Remorse  !'  You  have  no  idea  what  it 
is — you  can  form  no  idea  of  it  whatever — it  has 
contributed  to  bring  me  to  my  present  situation/ 
He  then  said,  ( Now  let  John  (his  negro  servant) 
take  your  pencil  and  draw  a  line  underneath  the 
word/  which  was  accordingly  done.  I  inquired 
what  was  to  be  done  with  the  card.  He  replied, 
'  Put  it  in  your  pocket  and  take  care  of  it ;  when  I 
am  dead  look  at  it/  ;; 

Let  the  reader  compare  with  the  above  the  fol- 
lowing letter  written  by  Dr.  Pay  son  just  before  his 
death.  Dr.  Payson  was  an  earnest  and  successful 
minister  of  the  gospel,  and  died  at  Portland,  Maine. 


LETTER   FROM   THE   TOP  OP  BEULAH.        163 

ft  Were  I  to  adopt  the  figurative  language  of  Bun- 
yan,  I  might  date  this  letter  from  the  top  of  Beulah, 
of  which  I  have  been  for  some  weeks  a  happy  in- 
habitant. The  celestial  city  is  full  in  my  view.  Its 
glories  beam  upon  me,  its  odours  are  wafted  to  me, 
its  sounds  strike  upon  my  ears,  and  its  spirit  is 
breathed  into  my  heart.  Nothing  separates  me  from 
it  but  the  river  of  death,  which  now  appears  but  as 
an  insignificant  rill  that  may  be  crossed  at  a  single 
step,  whenever  God  shall  give  permission.  The  Sun 
of  righteousness  has  been  drawing  nearer  and  nearer, 
appearing  larger  and  brighter  as  he  approached,  and 
now  he  fills  the  whole  hemisphere ;  pouring  forth 
a  flood  of  glory  in  which  I  seem  to  float  like  an  in- 
sect in  the  beams  of  the  sun;  exulting,  yet  almost 
trembling,  while  I  gaze  on  this  excessive  brightness, 
and  wondering,  with  unutterable  wonder,  why  God 
should  deign  thus  to  shine  upon  a  sinful  worm.  A 
single  heart,  and  a  single  tongue,  seem  altogether 
inadequate  to  my  wants ;  I  want  a  whole  heart  for 
every  separate  emotion,  and  a  whole  tongue  to  ex- 
press that  emotion." 

Having  thus  given  suflicient  examples,  we  ask  the 
reader  to  notice  who  they  are  whose  dying  hours 
differ  so  widely — to  whom  belongs  consolation  and 
triumph,  and  to  whom  "  remorse"  and  "  the  black- 
ness of  darkness  ?" 

We  might  add  examples  of  a  deeply  interesting 


164  EVIDENCE   FROM   EXPERIENCE. 


and  convincing  character  from  the  testimony  of  con- 
verted heathen,  in  contrast  with  those  who  die  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  But  let  the  above 
close  our  chapter  on  the  Evidence  from  Experience.* 

*  "The  Anchor,"  published  by  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union,  will  supply  very  striking  illustrations  of 
the  truth  here  taught. 


. 

ll- 


THE  REVIEW  OF  THE  JOURNEY.     165 


TOWER  VII. 

CONCLUSION. 
SECTION  I. — Summary  of  the  Arguments. 

WE  hope  we  have  led  our  readers  along  a  pleasant 
and  profitable  path.  If  the  way  has  not  been  at  all 
times  pleasing,  it  must  have  been  because  we,  who 
have  undertaken  the  office  of  guide,  have  not  been 
skilful  in  pointing  out  the  goodly  prospects.  If  the 
journey  has  not  been  full  of  instruction,  our  dili- 
gence in  gathering  the  materials  which  have  so 
abundantly  surrounded  us,  has  been  small.  Our 
confidence  in  the  subject,  however,  is  so  great,  that 
we  cannot  doubt  that  there  have  been  unfolded  to 
the  mind  of  the  youthful  reader,  as  we  have  ad- 
vanced with  our  illustrations,  many  truths  of  in- 
terest and  lasting  profit.  Now,  like  a  traveller, 
who,  in  a  pleasant  journey,  has  taken  notes  by  the 
way,  we  will  sit  down  and  recall  the  scenes  of  pro- 
minent interest — re-impress  our  minds  with  the  ad-  . 
ventures  which  have  been  the  most  thrilling,  and  so 
arrange  the  mass  of  information  that  we  have  ob- 
tained, that,  at  any  time,  it  may  be  at  our  command. 
We  have  endeavoured  to  erect  way-marks  as  we  ad- 


166  CONCLUSION. 


vaneed,  and  these  will  help  our  review.  We  will 
Burvey  accurately  the  citadels  of  strength,  and  the 
high  towers  of  defence,  of  our  holy  religion ;  so  that 
if,  hereafter,  we  are  called  suddenly  to  defend  it,  we 
shall  know  wherein  its  chief  power  lies.  And  if 
there  be  less  novelty  in  passing  over  the  ground 
again,  there  may  be  more  clearness. 

We  reminded  the  reader  when  we  set  out,  that  he 
would  hear  no  audible  voice  from  heaven,  saying, 
"  The  Bible  is  God's  word" — that  no  angel  would 
be  sent  to  smite  him  and  arouse  him  from  his  stu- 
pidity, and  communicate  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures 
are  God's  revelation.  But  he  was  apprised  that,  as, 
in  all  the  important  affairs  of  life,  reasons  were 
spread  out  to  be  examined  and  acted  upon  by  think- 
ing beings,  so  it  is  with  regard  to  the  evidences  that 
prove  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  We  have  redeemed 
our  promise  to  give  many  and  strong  reasons  of  its 
truth ;  stronger  than  those  which  support  the  claims 
of  truthfulness  made  by  other  books ;  stronger  than 
those  which  command  faith  in  worldly  matters ;  but 
to  the  determination  of  a  free,  accountable  mind, 
the  whole  is  left.  More  is  not  needed,  and  he  that 
does  not  sin  against  his  own  convictions  will  not  ask 
for  more. 

We  have  called  upon  the  original  witnesses  to  the 
divinity  of  the  Bible.  We  have  examined  their 
character.  We  have  diligently  inquired  into  their 
opportunity  of  knowing  what  they  have  pretended 


MIRACLES.  167 

to  witness.  We  have  also  examined  the  important 
question  whether,  through  the  lapse  of  many  hun- 
dred years,  their  testimony  has  come  down  to  us  un- 
impaired ;  and  we  have  been  delighted  and  surprised 
that,  amidst  the  convulsions  of  nations,  the  over- 
throw of  kingdoms,  the  darkness  of  many  ages  of 
profound  ignorance,  the  persecutions  of  enemies,  and 
the  fears  of  friends,  the  word  has  remained  unim- 
paired. 

We  have  found  the  witnesses  honest;  their  op- 
portunity for  knowing,  complete ;  and  their  testi- 
mony is  as  though  we  heard  it  from  their  own  lips. 
But  all  this  did  not  prove  that  what  they  spoke  was 
true,  because  they  were  fallible  men.  We  then  ex- 
amined the  miracles  which  they  wrought  and  which 
those  wrought  whose  words  they  quoted,  and  this 
proves  that  God  spake  through  them ;  and  though 
but  men,  they  could  not  be  mistaken.  These  mi- 
racles we  have  found  every  way  satisfactory.  They 
were  so  abundant,  that  their  real  character  appeared 
under  almost  every  variety  of  circumstances.  The 
sea  and  the  river  were  rolled  back  in  their  course, 
the  sun  arrested  in  the  heavens,  bread  was  sent  from 
heaven,  the  blind  were  made  to  see,  the  lame  to  walk, 
the  sick  were  healed,  and  the  dead  were  raised  to 
life !  All  this  was  done  under  such  circumstances, 
and  before  so  many  people,  that  there  could  not  have 
been  any  deception;  so  that  even  the  enemies  of 
the  truth  did  not  at  the  time  call  them  in  question. 


168  CONCLUSION. 

We  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
all  these  wonders  were  in  perfect  consistency  with 
the  character  of  the  truth  revealed.  The  Bible 
speaks  of  God's  love  to  man,  the  miracles  are  the  ex- 
ercise of  it  in  him;  it  teaches  man  benevolence 
towards  his  fellow  man,  so  do  the  miracles.  Christ 
taught  that  faith  in  his  name  was  to  save  the  soul; 
and  he  brought  into  connection  with  his  miracles 
this  same  grace,  when  he  said;  "  Only  believe,  and 
thou  shalt  be  made  whole."  We  have  seen  that 
the  power  of  working  miracles  was  continued  in  the 
church  so  long  as  there  was  any  thing  to  be  added 
to  God's  revelation,  and  until  a  full  confirmation  was 
given  to  the  faith  of  believers,  and  that  then,  an 
humble  confidence  in  the  truth  thus  confirmed,  was 
reasonably  demanded.  Truly  astonishing  is  the 
weight  of  such  evidence  ! 

The  next  step  was  to  examine  another  sort  of  mi- 
racles— "The  prophecies  of  Scripture/'  Having 
seen  their  rise  at  the  very  commencement  of  revela- 
tion, like  sparkling  rills  far  up  the  mountain-side, 
we  have  followed  their  course,  widening  and  deep- 
ening, until  they  have  swept  in  mighty  currents 
down  the  tide  of  time,  and  poured  a  flood  of  light 
on  God's  truth.  Their  starting  point  has  been  dis- 
tinctly given,  so  that  no  doubt  has  been  left,  that 
they  were  written  before  their  fulfillment.  Their 
details  are  such  that  they  could  not  have  been  the 
guess-work  of  shrewd  minds.  They  were  uttered 


PROPHECY  REVIEWED  169 

by  those  who  professed  to  be  sent  of  God  to  instruct 
mankind ;  and  lastly,  their  fulfilment  has  filled  us 
with  admiration  and  wonder.  Have  the  prophets 
spoken  to  mighty  and  prosperous  cities,  and  de- 
scribed, in  glowing  colours,  their  future  desolation, 
the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  brought  about,  and 
the  perfect  destruction  which  should  be  wrought  ?  We 
have,  with  the  intelligent  and  candid  traveller,  walked 
over  the  ruined  site,  and  viewed,  with  wonder  and 
awe,  its  consummation.  Have  they  made  an  excep- 
tion of  one  city  among  many  which  they  were  de- 
nouncing ?  That  city  alone,  we  have  seen  standing 
unmoved,  for  ages,  amidst  revolutions,  fiery  perse- 
cutions and  the  innovations  by  which  time  accom- 
plished the  overthrow  of  its  less  fortunate  rivals. 
Do  these  holy  men,  being  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
speak  of  the  Messiah  ?  We  have  dwelt  upon  their  mi- 
nute descriptions  of  his  birth,  life,  character,  mira- 
cles, mock-trial  and  death,  until  we  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  that  we  were  listening  to  one  who  was 
speaking  hundreds  of  years  before  our  Saviour's 
advent,  but  heard  it  as  from  an  eye-witness,  as  it 
has  since  taken  place.  Thus  by  prophecy  we  have 
been  convinced  that  God  has  spoken  through  the 
Scriptures  to  his  creatures,  pointing  out  the  way  to 
holiness  and  heaven. 

We  have  next  turned  to  the  Bible  itself,  having 
had  begotten  within  us  a  solemn  reverence  for  its 
teachings  and  a  deep  conviction  that  God  has  spoken 

15 


170  CONCLUSION. 

it.  We  have  turned  over  its  pages,  and  found  a 
delightful  confirmation  of  all  the  evidences  which 
have  wrought  such  conviction  of  their  truth.  The 
impress  of  Jehovah  has  appeared  in  every  line. 
We  have  first  looked  at  his  works  in  nature,  and 
have  seen  their  simplicity  and  grandeur.  So  have 
we  found  it  in  his  word.  So  simple,  that  the  way- 
faring man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err  therein ;  so 
sublime,  that  the  mind  of  a  Newton  is  lost  in  won- 
der while  contemplating  it.  Dwelling  upon  the  fact 
that  a  large  number  of  writers  composed  it,  living  in 
different  countries,  and  in  ages  thousands  of  years 
apart,  of  different  habits  and  education,  yet  all  de- 
claring the  same  truths,  and  never,  in  a  single  in- 
stance, really  contradicting  each  other — carrying  out 
one  great  system  of  holy  doctrines,  until  they  are 
fully  revealed,  and  supplied  with  all  the  necessary 
instrumentalities  to  extend  them  over  the  earth, 
we  have  felt  that  this  word  could  not  be  from  man. 
After  having  turned  from  these  topics,  we  have  been 
filled  with  wonder  and  gratitude  in  dwelling  upon 
the  perfect  character  of  Christ, — so  mild  yet  decided; 
go  authoritative  and  yet  so  lamb-like, — a  man  to  re- 
present our  nature,  and  Grod  to  fulfil  the  demands  of 
the  law, — as  man  to  expire  upon  the  cross,  as  G-od 
to  rise  from  the  grave,  and  sit  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father  to  intercede  for  a  guilty  world !  Again 
we  have  been  fully  satisfied  that  our  religion  is  from 
God,  having  such  a  founder. 


HEATHEN   TESTIMONY.  171 

The  Evidences  of  Christianity,  we  have  found, 
strengthen  as  we  advance.  To  the  Temple  of 
Truth,  which  they  erect,  they  add  pillar  to  pillar. 
Like  the  sun  ascending  through  a  cloudless  sky, 
they  pour  ray  after  ray  of  light,  until  the  meridian 
splendour  enters  every  hidden  recess. 

The  last  source  of  evidence  we  examined,  is  of 
itself  sufficient  to  establish  the  divinity  of  the  Bible. 
To  this  test,  whosoever  will,  may  come,  and  know 
that  its  doctrine  is  of  God.  We  have  been  re- 
minded that  many  thousands  in  our  own  happy 
country,  of  every  class  and  condition,  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned,  the  distinguished  and  obscure, 
the  bond  and  the  free,  are  making  the  experiment, 
and  adding  testimony  to  testimony,  that  "  With  the 
heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness."  The  poor 
heathen  idolater,  too,  suffering  in  the  deepest  moral 
darkness,  weighed  down  by  his  own  impurity,  has 
been  called  as  a  witness.  His  answer  has  been,  "I 
saw  the  fountain  opened,  and  one  beckoning  to  me 
to  wash  and  be  clean.  I  could  not  hesitate,  for  what 
had  I  to  lose  ?  I  ventured,  and  now  I  am  cleansed 
from  my  sin/'  Lest  delusion  or  fanaticism  should  be 
mistaken  for  a  change  of  nature,  we  have  been 
called  upon  to  examine  a  test  by  which  the  gold  can 
be  distinguished  from  the  dross.  We  have  cast  our 
eye  along  the  pathway  trod  by  the  messengers  bear- 
ing the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  have  found  it  strewed 
with  the  richest  trophies  of  divine  grace.  The  very 


172  CONCLUSION. 


air  has  been  filled  with  the  perfumes,  and  with  the 
melody  of  the  sweetest  music.  The  very  waves  that 
dash  upon  the  islands  where  the  gospel  has  been 
planted,  seem  to  have  lost  some  of  their  sullen  hoarse- 
ness, now  that  they  wash  a  shore  comparatively  un- 
polluted with  the  crimes  of  heathenism.  In  contem- 
plating the  proof  furnished  by  experience,  we  have 
left,  for  a  moment,  the  busy  scenes  of  life  and  enter- 
prise, and  set  ourselves  down  beside  the  couch  of  the 
dying.  We  have  watched  the  lamp  of  life,  as  it  has 
gone  slowly  out.  We  have  seen  men  die  without  ex- 
periencing the  transforming  power  of  the  Bible 
truth.  Their  gloomy  forebodings  of  the  future,  and 
bitter  regrets  for  the  past,  have  startled  us.  Some- 
times their  frantic  cries  of  despair  have  made  us 
shudder.  Their  greatest  boasting  has  been,  that 
"they  know  nothing,  and  hope  nothing."  They 
have  died  as  the  beasts  die.  Turning  from  such  heart- 
rending experience,  from  the  chambers  shrouded 
in  sack-cloth,  we  have  stepped  into  the  chamber 
where  "  the  good  man  meets  his  fate."  Here  is  one 
by  whom  the  Bible  has  been  believed  and  obeyed. 
What  serenity  do  we  see !  What  holy  joy,  what 
inspiring  hopes !  We  have  been  constrained  to 
say,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
my  last  end  be  like  his !" 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  arguments  we  have 
presented.     May  the  unbroken  chain  they  form 


THE  BIBLE   COURTS   INQUIRY.  173 

bind  us  with  sweet  constraint  to  God's  immutable 
word. 


SECTION  II. — Important  Inferences  from  the  Argument 
Presented. 

We  infer  from  ivhat  we  have  learned  that  the 
Bible  invites  a  thorough  examination  of  its  claims 
to  be  the  word  of  God.  If  we  should  walk  around 
a  walled  city  and  should  examine  here  and  there  the 
preparation  for  defence,  and  should  find  it  impreg- 
nable, we  should  infer  that  the  whole  was  well  made. 
A  tower  in  this  place,  and  a  well  mounted  battery  in 
that,  seem  to  say  to  an  enemy,  "You  will  find  no 
access."  If  we  examine  seven  out  of  ten  gates, 
and  find  them  of  brass,  massive  and  well  secured, 
we  may  infer  that  the  other  three  would  only  con- 
firm the  impression  that  the  city  is  well  protected 
against  invasion.  In  the  arguments  we  have  pre- 
sented to  the  youthful  reader,  we  have  only  glanced 
at  a  part  of  the  Christian  evidences.  We  have 
taken  them  about  Zion,  and,  as  we  rapidly  hurried 
on  lest  they  should  be  wearied,  we  have  pointed  to 
its  bulwarks,  and  bid  them  mark  the  beauty  of  its 
situation.  And  now  they  have  that  general  view 
of  her  excellent  glory — of  the  strength  of  her 
position,  they  may  well  conclude  that,  with  a  more 
experienced  guide,  with  more  leisure,  with  more 
maturity  of  mind,  after  a  few  years  shall  have  given 

15* 


174  CONCLUSION. 

them  the  vigour  of  manhood,  they  may  take  a  more 
exact  survey,  and  receive  a  deeper  conviction,  that 
"Beautiful  for  situation  is  mount  Zion,  the  joy  of 
the  whole  earth/' 

The  reader  must  not  infer  that  no  objections  can 
or  will  be  made  against  Christianity.  They  may 
go  forth  and  view  the  sun  as  it  scatters  its  light 
over  the  earth.  They  may  study  its  blessed  influ- 
ence in  the  flowers  that  cover  the  fields,  and  in  the 
rich  harvest  which  the  husbandman  hastens  to 
gather.  They  may  think  of  the  awful  void  that 
would  be  made  in  creation,  if  it  were  blotted  out. 
Yet  there  are  objections  which  a  determined  fault- 
finder could  make  against  the  sun.  If,  to  his  closed 
eyes,  creation  was  still  dark,  you  would  not  allow 
him  to  make  the  bright  luminary  of  day  respon- 
sible. If  its  rays  sometimes  fell  upon  his  unshel- 
tered head,  or  blinded  his  misdirected  sight,  or  if 
its  warmth  brought  forth  no  fruit  beneath  his  un- 
skilful culture,  you  would  not  for  a  moment  infer, 
with  its  abundant  blessings  everywhere  scattered 
about  you,  that  the  sun  was  not  made  by  God  and 
appointed  as  a  blessing  to  man.  If  one  should  in- 
sist that  he  saw  spots  in  the  sun,  and  to  him  they 
were  so  great,  so  inconsistent  with  what  it  should 
be,  that  he  could  not  believe  the  sun  itself  was  any 
thing  but  a  blot  upon  nature,  or  a  mere  creation 
of  chance  to  impose  upon  man's  credulity,  you 
would  recur  immediately  to  what  you  know  of  its 


THE   BIBLE   SHOULD  BE   STUDIED.  175 

real  nature,  and  pity  his  weakness.  Thus  it  is  with 
Christianity.  You  need  not  be  told  what  ob- 
jections man's  ingenuity  or  perverseness  may  bring 
against  it.  You  have  gazed  at  this  centre  of  moral 
light  and  purity, — you  have  examined  its  claims, — 
you  have  considered  its  character, — you  have  seen 
its  fruits : — This  knowledge,  with  God's  blessing, 
will  arm  you  against  all  cavils.  Knowing  the  Bible 
is  true  from  evidence  as  clear  as  that  which  shows 
the  sun  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  world,  all  objections 
must  be  false.  Here  you  stand.  Here  you  may 
stand,  unscathed  by  the  fiery  darts  of  the  devil,  and 
unmoved  by  the  ever  changing,  contradictory  charges 
of  perverse  and  wicked  men.  You  may  exclaim 
with  the  poet : 

"  Should  all  the  forms  that  men  devise, 

Assault  my  faith  with  treacherous  art, 
I'd  call  them  vanity  and  lies, 
And  bind  the  gospel  to  my  heart." 

If  the  Bible  be  God's  word,  we  ought  to  study  it 
with  diligence. 

When  one  of  our  naval  ships  is  ordered  to  cruise 
in  a  distant  ocean,  to  be  gone  perhaps  for  years,  a 
package  is  sometimes  put  into  the  hands  of  the  com- 
manding officer,  sealed,  with  orders  not  to  open  it 
until  they  arrive  at  the  appointed  scene  of  service. 
How  diligently  would  such  an  officer  study  these  in- 
structions, which  are  to  govern  all  his  movements 


176  CONCLUSION. 

in  an  important  cruise  for  many  toilsome  years  * 
Suppose  that  officer  should  toss  that  package  among 
his  papers,  or  carelessly  lay  it  away  in  a  drawer, 
and,  being  by  this  neglect  ignorant  of  his  duty, 
should  sail  from  port  to  port,  seeking  his  own  grati- 
fication, would  not  the  government  hold  him  account- 
able for  his  ignorance  ? 

We  are  voyagers  to  another  world ;  we  have  a 
boisterous  sea  to  navigate,  with  quicksands  and  rocks 
on  every  hand.  Darkness  will  often  surround  us, 
and  furious  storms  assail  us.  The  Bible  is  our  book 
of  instructions  for  this  dangerous  voyage,  but  thank 
God !  it  is  not  a  sealed  book.  Its  pages  are  spread 
out  for  our  perusal ;  it  informs  us  not  only  of  our 
present  danger,  and  our  every-day  duty,  but  it  tells 
us  whither  we  are  going,  and  the  preparation  we 
need  for  the  service  which  awaits  us,  which  is  to  be 
eternal.  Ought  we  not  to  be  found,  each  day,  pon- 
dering over  its  sacred  pages — not  carelessly,  but  with 
prayerful  attention;  pausing  while  we  read,  and 
silently  studying  the  weighty  meaning  ? 

But  we  must  part.  It  is  my  earnest  hope  that 
you  have,  springing  up  within  you,  a  deeper  reve- 
rence than  ever  for  Grod's  word.  You  are  soon  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  of  life.  You  will  be 
tried  by  many  temptations  and  perhaps  by  much 
adversity.  But,  in  all  the  changes  and  chances  of 
life,  you  will  find  the  Bible  a  lamp  to  your  feet  and 
a  light  to  your  path.  A  firm  belief  in  its  doctrines 


A  PARTING  WORD. 


177 


and  a  sincere  obedience  to  its  precepts  will  prove 
the  one  overflowing  source  of  true  peace;  and  my 
prayer  is,  that,  when  your  earthly  course  is  finished, 
and  your  mortal  frame  is  about  to  be  dissolved,  you 
may  press  the  Bible  to  your  breast,  looking  to  God 
in  holy  triumph,  saying,  "  THY  WORD  is  MY  SUP- 
PORT." 


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